Medicine

What causes the plague?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/causes-plague-214754.html" >What causes the plague?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

These acute febrile diseases are caused by Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis), discovered independently by Shibasaburo Kitasato and Alexandre Yersin in 1894, a bacterium that is transmitted to people by fleas from rats, in which epidemic waves of infection always precede great epidemics in human populations. Sylvatic plague, still another form, is carried by other rodents, e.g., squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, in rural or wooded areas where they are prevalent.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about plague . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: What factors cause the plague? What bacteria causes the plague? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research questions

Related research articles

Bacteria cause plague in coral reef.
Magazine article from: Science News ...unusually virulent coral disease. Plague type II first appeared on the...killing corals in a few days. Plague type I, which appeared in the...University in Miami. Type II plague comes from a previously unknown...colleagues have identified a complex cause. The dark band that creeps...
You Nose It.(development of nose drops that will deliver a vaccine to fight the...
Magazine article from: Odyssey Bubonic plague victims might soon be sniffing with relief...recently reappeared in Madagascar. Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis...lungs of others nearby. This is how a plague can spread rapidly. If treated quickly...
Wet weather causes daddy longlegs plague.
Newspaper article from: The Evening Standard (London, England) EARLY autumn downpours have led to an explosion in the population of craneflies, better known as daddy longlegs. Experts say this is a bumper year for the insects, which emerge from the soil at the end of the summer. Entomologist Stuart Hines, of the Natural History Museum, said: "Damp soil helps
IRAN: TERMITE PLAGUE CAUSES CHAOS IN SHAHROUD VILLAGE.(Brief Article)
Newspaper article from: IPR Strategic Business Information Database According to "Tehran Times", the onslaught of termites on Kalamu village, 34km northeast of Shahroud, is a cause of concern for the villagers, the Governor of Shahroud, Massoud Jalalvand, said. He added that the termites have attacked the...
'Jets do not cause wars and plague'.
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London) Byline: Tom McGhie Jan. 14--The aviation industry is at the heart of the battle to clean up the environment. Nothing better illustrates the ferocious argument raging between the Government and airlines over climate change than Environment Minister Ian Pearson's comment this month that: "Ryanair are
See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.