Where is Yersinia pestis found?
Plague is an infectious disease that affects animals and humans. It is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This bacterium is found in rodents and their fleas and occurs in many areas of the world, including the United States.
What does Yersinia pestis do?
Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria. It can be a life-threatening infection if not treated promptly. Plague has caused several major epidemics in Europe and Asia over the last 2,000 years. Plague has most famously been called “the Black Death” because it can cause skin sores that form black scabs.
What is the shape of Yersinia pestis?
Yersinia, (genus Yersinia), any of a group of ovoid- or rod-shaped bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Yersinia are gram-negative bacteria and are described as facultative anaerobes, which means that they are capable of surviving in both aerobic and anaerobic environments.
How is Yersinia pestis transmitted?
The organism that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, lives in small rodents found most commonly in rural and semirural areas of Africa, Asia and the United States. The organism is transmitted to humans who are bitten by fleas that have fed on infected rodents or by humans handling infected animals.
What are the 5 symptoms of the Black Death in order?
Signs and symptoms include:
- Fever and chills.
- Extreme weakness.
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting.
- Bleeding from your mouth, nose or rectum, or under your skin.
- Shock.
- Blackening and death of tissue (gangrene) in your extremities, most commonly your fingers, toes and nose.
What causes Yersiniosis?
Yersiniosis is an infectious disease caused by enteric bacteria of the genus Yersinia. In the United States, most human illness is caused by one species, Y. enterocolitica.
What are the characteristics of Yersinia?
Yersinia pestis — Key Characteristics
- Gram-negative bacilli, possible bipolar staining and a “safety pin” appearance.
- Nonhemolytic.
- Growth is faster at 25 to 28 degrees C than at 35 to 37 degrees C.
- At 48 to 72 hours the colonies on sheep blood agar have a “fried egg” appearance.
- Catalase positive.
How does Yersinia pestis spread?
Yersinia pestis is transmitted to humans by the bite of rodent fleas or more rarely from infected domestic cats, handling of infected animal tissue, inhalation of aerosolized droplets, or from laboratory exposure. The flea ingests the organism while feeding on a bacteremic host.