| black plague | In 14th-century Europe, the victims of the black plague had bleeding below the skin (subcutaneous haemorrhage) which made darkened ( blackened ) their bodies. Black plague can lead to black death characterised by gangrene of the fingers, toes, and nose. Black plague is caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) which is transmitted to humans from infected rats by the oriental rat flea. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| bubonic plague | <microbiology> This rare bacterial infection due to Yersinia pestis. It can cause painful, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache and prostration 2-7 days after a flea bite. May also cause pneumonia and sepsis. Transmitted in rodents and humans via an infected flea bite. The incubation period is 2-10 days. Yersinia infection is now rare in Western countries. Third world countries (for example India) can have epidemics of Yersinia. Treatment with antibiotics is necessary or most individuals will die. Even with antibiotic treatment the death rate is 5%. (15 Nov 1997) |
| rabbit plague | A virulent epidemic disease among laboratory rabbits caused by the rabbitpox virus, a member of the family Poxviridae; it does not apparently occur among wild rabbits. Synonym: rabbit plague. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cattle plague | A viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals caused by morbillivirus. It may be acute, subacute, or chronic with the major lesions characterised by inflammation and ulceration of the entire digestive tract. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cattle plague virus | A species of morbillivirus causing cattle plague, a disease with high mortality. Sheep, goats, pigs, and other animals of the order artiodactyla can also be infected. (12 Dec 1998) |
| glandular plague | <microbiology> This rare bacterial infection due to Yersinia pestis. It can cause painful, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache and prostration 2-7 days after a flea bite. May also cause pneumonia and sepsis. Transmitted in rodents and humans via an infected flea bite. The incubation period is 2-10 days. Yersinia infection is now rare in Western countries. Third world countries (for example India) can have epidemics of Yersinia. Treatment with antibiotics is necessary or most individuals will die. Even with antibiotic treatment the death rate is 5%. (15 Nov 1997) |
| great plague | The Great Plague that swept London in 1665 was probably not really the plague but rather typhus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plague | 1. To infest or afflict with disease, calamity, or natural evil of any kind. "Thus were they plagued And worn with famine." (Milton) 2. To vex; to tease; to harass. "She will plague the man that loves her most." (Spenser) Synonym: To vex, torment, distress, afflict, harass, annoy, tease, tantalize, trouble, molest, embarrass, perplex. Origin: Plagued; Plaguing. 1. That which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or vexation. "And men blasphemed God for the plague of hail." (Wyclif) "The different plague of each calamity." (Shak) 2. <medicine> An acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London plague. "A plague upon the people fell." Cattle plague. See Rinderpest. Plague mark, Plague spot, a spot or mark of the plague; hence, a token of something incurable. Origin: L. Plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr, fr. To strike; cf. L. Plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| plague bacillus | The bacterial cause of the bubonic plague which in the year 541 (as the black death) and later in the middle ages decimated europe. The effects of the plague are described in the nursery rhyme we all fall down. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of fleas that have fed on infected animals, mostly rodents. Plague occurs in the u.s. It is treatable with antibiotics but, if not treated promptly, can promptly lead to death. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plague, black | In the 14th century the victims of the black plague had bleeding below the skin (subcutaneous haemorrhage) which made darkened ( blackened ) their bodies. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plague, bubonic | The most common form of the plague named for the characteristic buboes which are enlarged lymph nodes ( swollen glands ) in the groin that aretender and painful. Lymph nodes may be similarly affected in the armpits (axillae), neck and elsewhere. Other features of the bubonic plague include headache, fever, chills, and weakness. The odd word bubo comes from the greek boubon meaning groin or swollen groin. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plague, great | The Great Plague that swept London in 1665 was probably not really the plague but rather typhus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plague pneumonia | A rapidly progressive and frequently fatal form of plague in which there are areas of pulmonary consolidation, with chill, pain in the side, bloody expectoration, and high fever. Synonym: plague pneumonia, pulmonic plague. (05 Mar 2000) |
| plague septicaemia | Infection with the plague organism, Yersinia pestis, with blood-stream infection. (05 Mar 2000) |
| plague, sylvatic | Plague that is spread by ground squirrels and other wild rodents, for example, in the western portion of the united states. Sylvatic has to do with sylvan, the woods. (12 Dec 1998) |