Question 1

What is pneumonic plague?

Accepted Answer

WHO describes three main clinical forms of plague infection: bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic. The pneumonic form affects the lungs and produces "severe respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing, often with blood-tainted sputum". (Source: WHO, plague fact sheet)

Question 2

How fast does it move?

Accepted Answer

WHO says incubation "can be as short as 24 hours", that pneumonic plague is "invariably fatal unless treated early", and that it can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours of disease onset if left untreated. The CDC puts the incubation period following inhalation at as short as one day. (Source: WHO, plague fact sheet; CDC, Plague Signs and Symptoms)

Question 3

Can it pass from person to person?

Accepted Answer

Yes. WHO: "Any person with pneumonic plague may transmit the disease via respiratory particles to other humans." The CDC says people with plague pneumonia can cough droplets containing the bacteria into the air and that inhaling those droplets can cause pneumonic plague in another person. (Source: WHO, plague fact sheet; CDC, How Plague Spreads)

Question 4

Is it treatable?

Accepted Answer

WHO: "Recovery rates are high if detected and treated in time (within 24 hours of onset of symptoms)", and common antibiotics for gram-negative rods can effectively cure the disease if delivered early. The window is the whole point: treatment has to start fast. (Source: WHO, plague fact sheet)

Question 5

What should I do if I think I was exposed, or I have symptoms?

Accepted Answer

The CDC says to seek immediate medical attention if you have symptoms such as fever, headache, weakness and rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain and cough, and that prompt treatment with the correct medications is critical to prevent complications or death. Tell the clinician about the possible exposure so they can start the right antibiotic. (Source: CDC, Plague Signs and Symptoms)

The figures

Plague worldwide