By: Samantha Hatfield & Rachel Irwing

Pneumonic Plague

A severe lung infection that

affects humans and animals

What is it?

The Yersina Pestis bacteria

Cause

Can survive up to one hour after being released into the air (varies depending on conditions)

Can be easily destroyed by sunlight and drying

Found in rodents and fleas

Yersina Pestis

Symptoms usually appear 2-3 days after exposure

Symptoms

FeverHeadacheWeaknessShortness of breathChest painCoughBloody/watery sputum (mucus that is coughed up from the

lower airways)Rapidly developing pneumonia Pneumonia may progress for 2-4 days causing

repiratory/shock*Lower airways: trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, lungs

Symptoms

Spreads from person to person by inhaling the bacteria released in air

Also spreads by:SalivaCoughingFecal/oral routesSurfacesBlood/needles/transfusionsSexual contactMother to fetus

Transmission

Early treatment is essential To reduce death patients should take

antibiotics within 24 hours of first symptoms

Treatments

Medications that are given:StreptomycinGentamicinTetracyclinesChloramphenicol

Wearing a close fitting mask around an infected person may help someone in close contact with them

A patient that has been taking antibiotics for 7 days also reduces the chances of contamination

Treatments

There are two types of Pneumonic PlaguePrimary- Inhalation/direct contamination of

Y.Pestis bacteriaSecondary- If Bubonic or Septicemic plague

goes untreated it allows the bacteria to spread to the lungs

Pneumonic Plague is also 1 of the 3 plagues also known as “Black Death”Three types of Plague

PneumonicBubonic Septicemic

Facts

Ring Around the RosieOriginated from the symptoms of the 3 types of

plague "The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions

have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, and posies of herbs were carried as protection and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and "all fall down" was exactly what happened.“

The line “Ashes, Ashes” can be interpreted as the many bodies being incinerated during an outbreakThere were so many deaths bodies were

lining the streets

Facts

There is currently no vaccine in the U.S. for this plague

Pneumonic is the only type of plague that can be spread from person to person

A person is not contagious until the bacteria reaches the lungs

Listed as a “rare disease”The Office of Rare Disease of National

Institutes of Health

Facts

The first major epidemic was in 540 Pelusium, EgyptReached Constantinople in 542In the following decade spread to Europe &

AsiaThe last major pandemic was in 1855-1896

worldwide, but mostly occurred in China & India 12 million people died

Facts

BioterrorismY. Pestis was used as a weaponReleased clouds of bacteria into countriesBrought infected people to opposing countries

on ships to kill off populationBecame a common tactic not only with plague

Facts

Affects less than 200,000 people in the U.S. populationWhich is why it is classified as a rare disease

With treatment there is a 5% mortality rateWithout treatment there is a 100% mortality rateAn estimated 75 million people died in Europe ( about

30-60% of their populationA 1970 World Health Organization (WHO) assessment

asserted that in a worst-case scenario a dissemination of 50 kg of Y. Pestis in an aerosol cloud over a city of 5 million might result in 150,000 cases of pneumonic plague. Of those, 80,000 to 100,000 cases would require hospitalization, and 36,000 victims would be expected to die.

Statistics

www.bt.cdc.govwww.diagnosis.comUHAVAX.HARTFORD.EDU/BUGL/

HISTEPI.HTMwww.gohsep.la.gov/factsheets/

FactsAboutPneumonicPlague.htmplague.emedtv.com/pneumonic-plague/

pneumonic-plague.html

Work Cited