Pneumonic Plague: What the Disease Is and How It Presents

Media around the world are widely reporting on a possible spread of pneumonic plague in Russia, although Russia itself has not confirmed the information. Nearly 200 people in the Irkutsk region have reportedly been hospitalised for observation after contact with a patient who, according to currently available information, died of pneumonic plague.

What pneumonic plague is

The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis when it reaches the lungs. It is the only form of plague that can spread from person to person through airborne droplets containing the bacterium.

Pneumonic plague can also develop in someone who initially has bubonic or septicaemic plague. These forms may result from flea bites or contact with infected bodily fluids or tissues. Once the infection spreads to the lungs, pneumonic plague develops.

Symptoms

Patients may experience weakness, headache, fever, chills, body aches, nausea and vomiting, difficulty breathing, and a bloody or watery cough. Symptoms usually appear one to four days after exposure and worsen rapidly.

Treatment and outlook

Untreated pneumonic plague almost always ends in death. However, it can be treated with antibiotics, and the best chances of survival come when treatment begins within 24 hours of the first symptoms.

Difference from bubonic plague

Both bubonic and pneumonic plague are caused by Yersinia pestis; the difference lies in which part of the body is affected. In bubonic plague the bacteria infect the lymph nodes, whereas pneumonic plague is an infection of the lungs. Bubonic plague is more common, and a few cases are still recorded in the United States each year, but the pneumonic form is more severe. The famous Black Death, which wiped out more than a third of Europe's population in the 14th century, is mainly associated with bubonic plague.

The material is based on reporting by The Hill.