Yersinia pestis infection classification
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Assistant Editors-In-Chief: Esther Lee, M.A.
Overview
Plague has different forms such as the pneumonic and the bubonic plague. Pneumonic plague can be transmitted from person to person; bubonic plague cannot. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and is transmitted when a person breathes in Y. pestis particles in the air. Bubonic plague is transmitted through the bite of an infected flea or exposure to infected material through a break in the skin. Symptoms include swollen, tender lymph glands called buboes. Buboes are not present in pneumonic plague. If bubonic plague is not treated, however, the bacteria can spread through the bloodstream and infect the lungs, causing a secondary case of pneumonic plague.
Classification
Bubonic Plague
Bubonic plague is transmitted by flea bite or direct contamination of an open skin lesion by plague-infected material. The infection spreads via the lymphatics to the regional lymph nodes causing inflammation and swelling in one or several nodes (buboes).[1]
Pneumonic Plague
Plague pneumonia occurs in two distinct and epidemiologically significant forms.[1]
- Secondary plague pneumonia results from hematogenous spread of Y. pestis to the lungs.
- A primary pneumonic plague patient usually has an infectious pneumonitis at the onset of symptoms.
Septicemic Plague
Septicemic plague can be primary or secondary to bubonic plague. Primary septicemic plague is a progressive, overwhelming bloodstream infection with Y. pestis in the apparent absence of a primary lymphadenopathy.[1]
Other Types of Plague
- Cellulocutaneous plague
- Meningeal plague
- Pharyngeal plague
- Abortive plague
- Pestis minor
- Asymptomatic plague