If the bacteria that cause plague (Yersinia pestis) move to the lungs, pneumonic plague symptoms usually appear within one to three days. Common symptoms include weakness, fever, headache, and shortness of breath. They usually progress for two to four days and may eventually cause respiratory failure and shock. Even with treatment, pneumonic plague symptoms result in death 75 percent of the time.
An Overview of Pneumonic Plague Symptoms
When a person becomes infected with the bacteria that cause
pneumonic plague, the bacteria begin to multiply within the lungs. After one to three days, pneumonic
plague symptoms can begin. The period between becoming infected and the start of symptoms is called the pneumonic
plague incubation period.
Common Pneunomic Plague Symptoms
When they begin, pneumonic plague symptoms can often include:
- Fever
- Weakness
- Headache
- Rapidly developing pneumonia with:
o Shortness of breath
o Chest pain
o Cough
o Bloody or watery sputum (saliva and discharge from respiratory passages).
Progression of Pneumonic Plague Symptoms
With pneumonic plague, symptoms usually progress for two to four days, and may eventually cause respiratory failure and shock. Death typically occurs within two to six days after symptoms begin. The mortality rate of pneumonic plague is 75 percent, even with appropriate
plague treatment.
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