Plague is caused by the organism yersinia pestis. Rodents, such as rats, spread the disease to humans. People can get the plague when they are bitten by a flea that carries the plague bacteria from an infected rodent. In rare cases, you may get the disease when handling an infected animal. Certain forms of the plague can be spread from human to human. When someone with pneumonic plague coughs, microscopic droplets carrying the infection move through the air. Anyone who breathes in these particles may catch the disease. An epidemic may be started this way. In the Middle Ages, massive plague epidemics killed millions of people. Today, plague is rare in the United States, but has been known to occur in parts of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. The time between being infected and developing symptoms is typically 2 to 10 days, but may be as short as a few hours for pneumonic plague.
What causes Bubonic plague?
Plague is caused by the organism yersinia pestis. Rodents, such as rats, spread the disease to humans. People can get the plague when they are bitten by a flea that carries the plague bacteria from an infected rodent. In rare cases, you may get the disease when handling an infected animal. Certain forms of the plague can be spread from human to human. When someone with pneumonic plague coughs, microscopic droplets carrying the infection move through the air. Anyone who breathes in these particles may catch the disease. An epidemic may be started this way. In the Middle Ages, massive plague epidemics killed millions of people. Today, plague is rare in the United States, but has been known to occur in parts of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. The time between being infected and developing symptoms is typically 2 to 10 days, but may be as short as a few hours for pneumonic plague.