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Plague, Is It a Threat

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Submitted By Sarahwang
Words 1644
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ESSAY TOPIC: Plague, is it still a threat?
 History
 Aetiologgy and treatment
 Plague in the modern world
Abstract
The plague is a communicable disease, having a high mortality rate without treatment. There are three huge pandemics in history with millions of deaths occurring. The first pandemic occurred around the year 541AD and was called “plague of Justinian”, the second pandemic “Black Death” occurred in 14th century, and the third epidemic resulted in China around the 1860s. There are three main types of plague such as bubonic plague, septicaemic plague and primary pneumonic plague, with each type of the plague; the antibiotics are the most important method of treatment for plague currently. The Yersinia pestis, as the causative agent of plague, is a Gram-negative bacillus in the bacterial family. This disease is transmitted by the biting of fleas, which occur in some animals such as the rats, rabbits and dogs. Early detection, reporting, isolating and early treatment are very important in preventing huge scales of the plague’s happening. People should take more precautions to prevent plague from infection. Today, this infectious disease is still a threat for people around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and South American countries.

“Plague or its cause, Y. pestis, has been used by humans as a weapon (bioterrorist weapon) against other humans for centuries, including this current time”(Nettleman, 2012). The plague is an infectious bacterial disease, caused by Yersinia Pestis, which originally affects wild rodents, such as rats, mice and squirrels (World Health Organization, 2013). There are three main types of the plague: bubonic plague, septicaemic plague and primary pneumonic plague (Anisimov & Amoako, 2006, p.55). As one of the most serious epidemic diseases, it has a high mortality rate without immediate treatment. According to Perry and

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