What is the plague: a history, occurrence, treatment

What is plague? This is a very serious infectious disease, leading to quite large-scale epidemics, which in most cases result in the death of a person. About this and talk.

History of the plague

The very first epidemic, described in the sources, occurred in the 6th century and killed about 100 million people.

After 8 years, there was a relapse in Western Europe and the Mediterranean. Then the ailment took more than 60 million lives.

The third large-scale outbreak of plague occurred in Hong Kong in the late 19th century. It spread quite quickly in more than 100 port cities. For example, in only one India, the plague epidemic claimed the lives of 12 million people.

It should be noted that this disease has several forms:

• Bubonic plague ;
• Pulmonary;
• Septic.

What causes plague?

It is caused by a certain bacterium, which was discovered in the late 19th century. French scientist A. Jersen and Japanese researcher S. Kita-Kazato paid attention to it. It is worth noting that today we already know quite well what the plague is. There are also known microorganisms that arouse this disease. Let's talk about the epidemic in more detail.

What is the plague in its essence?

In fact, this is a "black death". That's how she was nicknamed for the worst consequences and peculiar symptoms. Indeed, this disease does not spare either children or adults. If you do not start timely treatment, then the plague destroys more than 70% of people infected with it.

What triggers the epidemic?

It is worth noting that today this disease is very rare, but on our planet there are natural foci that arouse this infection. These are rodents, which have pathogens. They are in most cases the main carriers of the disease.

How does a person become infected with a plague?

It is not enough to know what the plague is and who is its causative agent. One must be aware of how its deadly bacteria can enter our body. The fact is that the deadly plague virus gets into it through fleas! It is these little parasites who are looking for a new master after the infected mice and rats begin to mass die.

Moreover, modern medicine describes the airborne pathway through which the infection is transmitted. It determines the rapid spread and development of the plague epidemic.

Symptoms of the disease

They appear 2-5 days after infection. Here is their list:

• chills;
• A sharp increase in body temperature;
• Drop in blood pressure;
• A little later there is confusion, delusions arise, coordination of movement is disturbed.

How is the plague treated?

Photos of sick people who contracted this epidemic, you see on their screens. It's terrible, is not it? To prevent this from happening, the diagnosis of the disease should be made on the basis of immunological methods, laboratory culture and polymerase chain reaction.

If any of the forms of the plague are detected, the patient is immediately hospitalized. The hospital staff are taking unprecedented precautions, and the treatment of the infected person begins.

Today, thanks to modern medicine, large-scale outbreaks of plague have become a huge rarity in the world. Currently, mortality from this disease does not exceed 5-10% of the world population.

Risk areas

In Russia there is a list of regions that are endemic for the plague. These are the Altai, Stavropol, the Caspian lowland, Transbaikalia, the Eastern Ural region.