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Pneumonic plague
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<p>Pneumonic plague is a severe <a href="/facts/Lung_infection/YPY5vY6p">lung infection</a> caused by the <a href="/facts/Bacterium/wC8xSCsU">bacterium</a> <i><a href="/facts/Yersinia_pestis/LBCfCSeW">Yersinia pestis</a></i>. Symptoms include <a href="/facts/Fever/waVxR2Ac">fever</a>, headache, <a href="/facts/Shortness_of_breath/1jBfFzxU">shortness of breath</a>, <a href="/facts/Chest_pain/QFUzPBsT">chest pain</a>, and coughing. They typically start about three to seven days after exposure. It is one of three forms of <a href="/facts/Plague_(disease)/4r7oe5lC">plague</a>, the other two being <a href="/facts/Septicemic_plague/X33kMnU6">septicemic plague</a> and <a href="/facts/Bubonic_plague/N9dCQ3EP">bubonic plague</a>. </p><p>The pneumonic form may occur following an initial bubonic or septicemic plague infection. It may also result from breathing in <a href="/facts/Airborne_disease/hpm1oR83">airborne</a> droplets from another person or animal infected with pneumonic plague. The difference between the forms of plague is the location of infection; in pneumonic plague the infection is in the lungs, in bubonic plague the <a href="/facts/Lymph_nodes/vkwfcQjH">lymph nodes</a>, and in septicemic plague within the blood. Diagnosis is by testing the blood, sputum, or fluid from a lymph node. </p><p>While <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccines</a> are being developed, in most countries they are not yet commercially available. Prevention is by avoiding contact with infected rodents, people, or cats. It is recommended that those infected be <a href="/facts/Isolation_(health_care)/qDFIYSsW">isolated</a> from others. Treatment of pneumonic plague consists of <a href="/facts/Antibiotic/sF1kIfxg">antibiotics</a>. </p><p>Plague is present among rodents in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Pneumonic plague is more serious and less common than bubonic plague. The total reported number of cases of all types of plague in 2013 was 783. Left untreated, pneumonic plague is almost always fatal. Some hypothesize that the pneumonic version of the plague was mainly responsible for the <a href="/facts/Black_Death/fztxlxgl">Black Death</a> that resulted in approximately 75 - 200 million deaths in the 1300s. </p>