What Is the Cure for the Bubonic Plague?

Because the disease is still present today, many people wonder, "What is the cure for the bubonic plague?" Early treatments in the form of antibiotics offer a cure in 85 percent of cases. Since the plague vaccine is no longer commercially available in the United States, the best cure for the bubonic plague is a threefold approach: preventative drug therapy, environmental management, and public health education.

Bubonic Plague Information

What Is the Cure for the Bubonic Plague? -- An Overview

The best cure for the bubonic plague is preventing it in the first place. Early plague treatment offers the best chance for recovery if a person does become infected with the bacteria that causes the disease (Yersinis pestis). The plague vaccine is no longer commercially available in the United States.

What Is the Cure for the Bubonic Plague? -- Prevention

It is likely that plague will continue to exist in its many localized geographic areas around the world, and plague outbreaks in wild rodent hosts will also probably continue to occur. Attempts to eliminate wild rodent plague are costly and futile; therefore, plague prevention is directed toward reducing the threat of infection in humans in high-risk areas through three techniques:

Preventative drug therapy
Environmental management
Public health education.

(Click Plague Prevention for more information on techniques that can offer a preventative cure for bubonic plague.)

What Is the Cure for the Bubonic Plague? -- Early Treatment

Bubonic plague is a rapidly progressive illness that can result in death within one week of symptoms occurring; therefore, it is important that bubonic plague be diagnosed and treated early. In 85 percent of cases, early treatments offer a cure for the bubonic plague. Without treatment, the body is only able to effectively fight off the plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis) in 10 to 50 percent of cases.

(What Is the Cure for the Bubonic Plague? Continued: Page 2)