RT Book, Section A1 Prentice, Michael B. A2 Jameson, J. Larry A2 Fauci, Anthony S. A2 Kasper, Dennis L. A2 Hauser, Stephen L. A2 Longo, Dan L. A2 Loscalzo, Joseph SR Print(0) ID 1155967826 T1 Plague and Other Yersinia Infections T2 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259644016 LK accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1155967826 RD 2024/03/29 AB Plague is a systemic zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis. It predominantly affects small rodents in rural areas of Africa, Asia, and the Americas and is usually transmitted to humans by an arthropod vector (the flea). Less often, infection follows contact with animal tissues or respiratory droplets. Plague is an acute febrile illness that is treatable with antimicrobial agents, but mortality rates among untreated patients are high. Ancient DNA studies have confirmed that both the fourteenth-century Black Death and the sixth-century Plague of Justinian in Europe were due to Y. pestis infection. Patients can present with the bubonic, septicemic, or pneumonic form of the disease. Although there is concern about epidemic spread of plague by the respiratory route, this is not the most common route of plague transmission, and established infection-control measures for respiratory plague exist. However, the fatalities associated with plague and the capacity for infection via the respiratory tract mean that Y. pestis fits the profile of a potential agent of bioterrorism (Chap. S2). Consequently, measures have been taken to restrict access to the organism, including legislation affecting diagnostic and research procedures in some countries (e.g., the United States).