Conditions listing Plague as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Plague. Our database lists the following as having Plague as a symptom of that condition:
Causes: Plague:
Yersinia pestis bacteria
People usually get plague from being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an infected animal. (Source: excerpt from CDC Plague Home Page: DVBID)
Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis bacillus.
(Source: excerpt from Facts About Plague: CDC-OC)
As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Plague may be found in:
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Plague is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of a flea from an infected rodent host, such as a rat, squirrel, prairie dog, or hare. (See Carrier of bubonic plague.) Occasionally, transmission occurs from handling infected animals or their tissues. Bubonic plague is notorious for the historic pandemics in Europe and Asia during the Middle Ages, which in some areas killed up to two-thirds of the population. This form is rarely transmitted from person to person. However, the untreated bubonic form may progress to a secondary pneumonic form, which is transmitted by contaminated respiratory droplets (coughing) and is highly contagious. In the United States, the primary pneumonic form usually occurs after inhalation of Y. pestis in a laboratory.
Sylvatic (wild rodent) plague remains endemic in South America, the Near East, central and Southeast Asia, north central and southern Africa, Mexico, and western United States and Canada. In the United States, its incidence has been rising, a possible reflection of different bacterial strains or environmental changes that favor rodent growth in certain areas. Plague tends to occur between May and September; between October and February it usually occurs in hunters who skin wild animals. One attack confers permanent immunity.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
The bite of a flea from an infected rodent host — such as a rat, squirrel, prairie dog, or hare — is the typical transmission route to humans. Occasionally, transmission occurs from handling infected animals or their tissues. Bubonic plague is notorious for the historic pandemics in Europe and Asia during the Middle Ages, which in some areas killed up to two-thirds of the population. This form is rarely transmitted from person to person. However, the untreated bubonic form may progress to a highly contagious, secondary pneumonic form, which is transmitted by contaminated respiratory droplets. In the United States, the primary pneumonic form usually occurs after inhalation of Y. pestis in a laboratory.
Endemic areas in the United States are California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Bubonic and pneumonic plague can occur.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
The illness commonly known as the plague is caused by Y. pestis, a Gram-negative pleomorphic bacillus that is part of the Enterobacteriaceae family.
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
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