a severe and often fatal disease caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly Pasteurella pestis), transmitted to man by the bite of fleas, themselves usually infected by biting infected rodents. It is characterized by the formation of buboes, most notably on the groin and armpits, and accompanied by weakness and high fever. The disease was known as the black death, and was responsible for several devastating plagues throughout the middle ages. When lungs became infected, the disease was called the pneumonic plague. It is still found occasionally in poor areas of undeveloped countries but is rare in developed countries.

a form of plague in which lymph nodes in the groin and armpit swell

the most common form of the plague; characterized by delirium and the formation of buboes; does not spred from person to person

a bacterial infection, transmitted from the flea bite of an infected rat to humans. Symptoms include high fever, chills, weakness, and enlarged lymph nodes that turn black (hence the name "The Black Death.) The Plague originated in China and was spread to Western Asia and Europe because China was one of the busiest trading nations. This devastating disease killed 1/3 of Europe's population over a five year period. Though the plague no longer exists, the basic elements of transmission do making future epidemics a possibility. Preventative measures are the proper disposal of garbage and protecting household animals from flea infestation.

Bubonic plague is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease plague, which is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. The epidemiological use of the term plague is currently applied to bacterial infections that cause buboes, although historically the medical use of the term plague was applied to pandemic infections generally.