How to Recognize Septicaemic Plague

The Great Plague, or "Black Death" that wiped out nearly a third of the European population actually has three manifestations: the bubonic plague, pneumonic plague and septicaemic plague. This last is the most rare and most fatal of the three; the mortality rate is nearly 100 percent.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Look first for generalized illness and a variety of symptoms. These include chills, nausea, sore throat, headache, numbness throughout the body and a general feeling of illness. These symptoms are non-specific, so they are not usually a good diagnostic tool unless the patient has been around known plague victims.

2. Keep in mind that the first specific sign of septicaemic plague is a sudden, high fever. Several hours after the onset of the fever the victim begins to turn a dark purple color. This is caused by respiratory failure and is the reason the plague was called the Black Death.

3. Watch for signs of plague complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, abscesses or swelling of the lymph nodes. The usual cause of death in the case of septicaemic plague is general organ failure, often taking place on the same day as the symptoms manifest.

4. Monitor the patient for arterial thrombosis (blockage of an artery) hemorrhages of the skin and profuse toxemia that is caused by the rapid spread of toxins (Yersinia pestis bacteria) throughout the bloodstream. The bubonic plague reveals its presence by taking up residence in the lymph nodes, which swell and burst, allowing time for treatment. Septicaemic plague shows no specific signs until it is too late to treat.

5. Draw blood, spinal fluid or other bodily fluids to test for the Yersinia pestis bacteria. This is the only sure diagnosis for septicaemic plague. It travels through the bloodstream so quickly and multiplies so rapidly, this will not lead to a cure, but will alert the doctor to the presence of plague.

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