Utah Plague Case Study

The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is considered one of the most lethal in history. Recorded pandemics of the plague reach back to 541 A.D. and minor epidemics can still be found around the world (Plague). The plague consists of a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. This bacterium has the ability to mutate quickly and can easily destroy the immune system of the infected person, “it does this by injecting toxins into defense cells such as macrophages that are tasked with detecting bacterial infections. Once these cells are knocked out, the bacteria can multiply unhindered.” (Plague) The bubonic plague has a number of symptoms ranging from a headache to seizures. The most distinguishable

Many people had different ideas on what caused the Plague. Some of the reasons included that God was correcting issues such as human wrongdoings, Jews were poisoning the Christians by putting poison in the water sources, and that an earthquake caused fumes to get into the air that people were then breathing in and becoming ill from (Marks, Geoffrey J). In reality, the plague was caused by Yersinia Pestis, which is a bacteria carried by rodents. If a rat carrying the bacteria were to bite a human, then the bacteria would enter the human’s bloodstream and would spread rapidly. The individuals that were affected had large swollen lymph nodes, high fever, and became delirious from pain (The Black Death). The most distinguishing side effect was patches on the

What is the plague? The plague or referred to as the Black Death, according to the CDC (2015), “is a disease that affects humans and other mammals and caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague”. There are three categories of a plague. There is the bubonic plague, which is the most common form. With this form bacteria infects the lymph system and causes it to become inflamed. Symptoms of this type of plague are fever, headache, chills, and swollen and tender lymph nodes, which are called buboes. Then there is the Septicemic, which occurs when the bacteria multiply in the blood. Symptoms of this type of plague are fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs. Also, skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially fingers, toes and the nose (CDC, 2015). Then there is the Pneumonic Plague, which is the most serious form of plague and occurs when Y. pestis bacteria infect the lungs and cause pneumonia (NIH, 2015). This is the only form of the plague that can be transmitted human to human. Symptoms of this form of the plague are ever, headache, weakness, and a rapidly

The most common symptom of this disease was the occurrence of tumors around the groin, armpits, and neck. When opened, these tumors oozed and bled. The tumors would soon be followed by fever and the vomiting of blood. Victims would usually die between two to seven days after catching the disease. After dying, the armies would collect the bodies and throw them over the walls of the city. Other symptoms of the plague was a lung condition, which caused difficulty breathing, horrible infections to the respiratory system, and coughing up

The plague was caused by bacteria known as Yersinia pestis and was common in rodent populations (“Ecology and Transmission”). When rodents, such as rats, became infected and began to die off, the fleas who were once feeding off of them needed to find a new host. During Medieval times rats lived in close quarters with humans, even infesting their ships. This neighboring proximity made it easy for fleas to carry the disease to humans (Benedictow). Not only could the plague be transmitted through a flea bite, but exposure to contaminated body fluids and tissues, such as feces and blood, could cause infection. Once a human was infected, they could transmit it through coughs and sneezing, although more rare (“Ecology and

The Bubonic Plague hit Michigan, one person being infected by the disease, but it was assumed that, since he visited an area in the US which gets hit by the plague often, he did not catch it from anyone in Michigan. According to the article, a few other cases in Western and Southwestern states have appeared. However, the disease has only killed two people in the past few years, and is easily repelled with antibiotics and other treatments.

The plague was a ruthless, quickly spread, and killed thousands maybe millions. It came in three forms; bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. The symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, which can be as large as chicken eggs, in the groin, armpit, or neck. They may be tender and warm. Others include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. It could come from contaminated water, and was also carried by fleas that were on rats, dogs, and cats. For this reason the King killed all dogs and cats to try to get

A lot of people would get sick from there friends or from sick people walking around the city. Some symptoms from the Plague were vomiting, chills, fever, diarrhea, and

In the CNN article, “Bubonic plague reported in Michigan,” author Greg Botelho tells about how their is another case of the plague. This case has been the only reported case that wasn’t in the west. All other cases had been in the western states, particularly in Colorado, where the most of the recent outbreaks have been. Though, the person in Michigan probably didn’t catch the disease in Michigan, because they had just gotten back from a trip to Colorado. But, it is not for certain that this is the case.

In August of last year, an adult in Pueblo County, Colorado succumbed to the bubonic plague. The Health Department did not specify who it was, just saying that it was an adult. This was the first case of someone contracting the plague in Pueblo County since 2004. It is thought that the person caught the disease from fleas on a dead animal. According to the CDC, about seven people every year contract the plague in the United States.

Within the plague there are three different forms; Bubonic, Septicemic, and Pneumonic. The symptoms of the plague vary from the different kinds. Some symptoms that come with all the different kinds are fever, chills, cough, and buboes-a swelling in the lymph gland (Dugdale). Basically the symptoms are those of a bad flu plus a swelling of the lymph gland. After coming in contact with the bacteria the signs or symptoms will start to appear in 2-6 days for Bubonic and Pneumonic. For Septicemic symptoms will appear in 1-6 days (History). If people had these symptoms with some other symptoms in the time of the plague in Europe, they probably had been infected.

The state agency noted that he or she contracted the bacteria in Colorado and stayed in an area that with reported plague activity. Colorado has been hit hard by the plague, an adult and teenager have lost their lives due to this disease in Colorado. The plague is still around today even in highly developed countries,

The bacteria found in the Black Plague is known as Yersinia pestis that is a bipolar and plump, lightly-staining, coccobacillus. Remaining a dangerous threat even today as well as what was previously stated that it is a plausible agent for bioterrorism. And as stated, areas such as America, Asia, and Africa are foci endemic areas. Where wild rodents, such as squirrels and rats, are the sustenance pushing for the spread and infection of the disease. The transmission being from animal-to-animal through fleas and infection to humans through contact or bites. Instances of human-to-human infection are uncommon except for the pneumonic plague, the disease caused by plague bacillus also known as Y pestis. The germ was named after Alexander Yersin who had discovered it in 1894 during a pandemic in China that started in1860. Causing numerous casualties by how fast and effective the disease was spreading, it had seemed that there was no end in

plague in and of itself is a bacterium called yersinia pestis and is carried by rodents (Scogna).

It was believed in the middle ages that this disease was caused by poor hygiene, bad eating habits, corrupted humid air, and a lack of rest. Once a person was thought to be infected the doctors would move them to a non-infected area thinking that this would heal the persons illness instead this transported the disease even further than normal. In modern times we have made leaps and bounds to control this illness. One of the main problems of the plague is that it is not treatable until the victim gets tested and confirmed that the plague is the illness. Once that is done they will start receiving high doxycycline doses and many other types of antibiotics. The mortality rate for someone that is not treated is 50-90% compared to treated cases of 1-15%.