Clinical Syndromes

• Plague is an acute and potentially fatal bacterial infection that affects humans and animals. It is caused by Y. pestis, a Gram-negative, bipolar-staining, pleomorphic coccobacillus.
• Plague usually presents as one of five principal clinical syndromes:
• Bubonic
• Pneumonic
• Septicemic
• Plague meningitis
• Pharyngeal
• Descriptions of the characteristics of these different syndromes are provided on the following pages.