Bubonic Plague Treatment

Antibiotics are usually used for bubonic plague treatment, and the patient is hospitalized and placed in isolation even before lab results are known. Without prompt treatment, the bacteria can quickly multiply in the bloodstream or spread to the lungs. For this reason, it is important for a patient to receive bubonic plague treatment as soon as possible.
 

An Introduction to Bubonic Plague Treatment

When an infection with the bacteria that causes plague (Yersinia pestis) is suspected, the person is often hospitalized and placed in isolation. Bubonic plague treatment (in most cases, antibiotics) is started as soon as possible, even before any lab tests come back. It also important that people who have been in close contact with an infected person be identified and evaluated.
 

Antibiotics as Bubonic Plague Treatment

Specific antibiotics used for bubonic plague treatment can include:
 
  • Gentamycin
  • Streptomycin.
     
Tetracyclines and chloramphenicol can also be effective.
 

Bubonic Plague Treatment for Close Contacts

Any person who has had close contact with the patient should be traced, identified, and evaluated. Contacts of patients with plague may be placed under observation or given preventive antibiotic therapy, depending on the degree and timing of contact.
 

How Bubonic Plague Treatment Affects Prognosis

Left untreated, bubonic plague bacteria can quickly multiply in the bloodstream, possibly causing septicemic plague, or even progress to the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. If bubonic plague treatment is administered early, the mortality rate is 15 percent; however, the mortality rate is 50 to 90 percent if it is not treated.
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD