A Survey of the Literature on the Plague and Efficient Cure

Yersinia pestis is causative agent of plague and is considered one of the most likely pathogens to be used as a bioweapon. In humans, plague is severe clinical infection that can rapidly progress with a high mortality despite antibiotic therapy. Plague is an acute infectious disease caused by gram-negative cocco-bacillus Yersinia pestis. This review provides an overview of its clinical manifestation, diagnosis, treatment, prophylaxis and protection requirements for the use of clinicians. I discuss the likelihood of a plagiarism of plague in an online world, and the feasibility of obtaining, isolating, culturing, transporting and dispersing plague in the context of an attack aimed at a westernized country. The lethality of plague with the resurgent in number of cases, development of antibiotic resistance, recent occurrence in urban areas and the lack of a vaccine make it a disease not to be missed in the mortuary. An extensive literature search on the Medline and Web of science database was conducted to collect papers relevant to plague. In autopsy, organ may be lymphadenopathy, fulminant pneumonia and diffuse interstitial pneumonitis. Conversely, any organ may be affected by myocarditis, meningitis, pharyngitis and hepatic and splenic necrosis. Front-line clinicians should be aware of the potential of deliberate release of plague and prepared to instigate early isolation of patient.