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 Bioterrorism Main Article |  Glossary |  Bioterrorism Index 

Bioterrorism Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Bioterrorism article.

Aluminum: A naturally occurring element that makes up about 8% of the surface of the earth and is always found combined with other elements such as oxygen, silicon, and fluorine. Aluminum is is the most common metallic element in the earth's crust but has no clear biologic role. Everyone is exposed to low levels of aluminum from food, air, and water. Exposure to high levels of aluminum may result in respiratory problems (aluminosis). Inhalation of bauxite (aluminum ore) fumes may cause pulmonary fibrosis . Aluminum in the bloodstream may lead to neurological symptoms and may be fatal.
See the entire definition of Aluminum

Anthrax : A serious bacterial infection caused by Bacillus anthracis that occurs primarily in animals. Cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and some wild animals are highly susceptible. Humans and swine are generally quite resistant to anthrax. Humans become infected when the spores of B. anthracis enter the body by contact with animals infected with B. anthracis or from contact with contaminated animal products, insect bites, ingestion, or inhalation. Aerosolized ("weaponized") spores of B. anthracis can potentially be used (misused) for biological warfare and bioterrorism. Cutaneous anthrax is the most common form of the disease and is characterized by the development of a localized skin lesion with a central eschar surrounded by marked edema (swelling). Inhalation anthrax (woolsorters' disease) typically involves hemorrhagic mediastinitis (bleeding into the mid-chest), rapidly progressive systemic (bodywide) infection, and carries a very high mortality rate. Gastrointestinal anthrax is much rarer but is also associated with a high mortality rate.
See the entire definition of Anthrax

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms. Originally, an antibiotic was a substance produced by one microorganism that selectively inhibits the growth of another. Synthetic antibiotics, usually chemically related to natural antibiotics, have since been produced that accomplish comparable tasks.
See the entire definition of Antibiotic

Antibiotic resistance: The ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to withstand an antibiotic to which they were once sensitive (and were once stalled or killed outright). Also called drug resistance.

Atypical: Not typical, not usual, not normal, abnormal. Atypical is often used to refer to the appearance of precancerous or cancerous cells.

Avian flu: See: Avian influenza.

Bacillus: A large family of bacteria that have a rod-like shape. They include the bacteria that cause food to spoil, and also those responsible for some types of diseases. Helpful members of the bacillus family are used to make antibiotics, or colonize the human intestinal tract and aid with digestion.
See the entire definition of Bacillus

Bacillus anthracis: The bacterium that causes anthrax . Anthrax differs from most bacteria in that they exist in an inactive (dormant) state called spores. The spores are found in soil, animal carcasses and feces (including sheep, goats, cattle, bison, horses, and deer), and animal products (e.g., hides and wool). Some animals (cats, dogs, rats, and swine) are very resistant to anthrax. Remarkably, anthrax spores can remain dormant in soil for many years, perhaps decades. Likened somewhat to eggs that have the ability to hatch, spores can transform (germinate) into active bacteria under appropriate conditions.
See the entire definition of Bacillus anthracis

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms which can exist either as independent (free-living) organisms or as parasites (dependent upon another organism for life).
See the entire definition of Bacteria

Bioterrorism: Terrorism using biologic agents. Biological diseases and the agents that might be used for terrorism have been listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC ). The list includes a sizable number of "select agents" -- potential weapons whose transfer in the scientific and medical communities is regulated to keep them out of unfriendly hands.
See the entire definition of Bioterrorism

Botulinum toxin: A toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum that is the most poisonous biological substance known. Botulinum toxin acts as a neurotoxin . It binds to the nerve ending at the point where the nerve joins a muscle, blocking the release by the nerve of the chemical acetylcholine (the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction), preventing the muscle from contracting. The result is weakness and paralysis of the muscle. The muscle atrophies. The blockage of acetylcholine release is irreversible. Function can be recovered by the sprouting of nerve terminals and the formation of new synaptic contacts, which usually takes 2 to 3 months.
See the entire definition of Botulinum toxin

Botulism: An uncommon but potentially very serious illness, a type of food poisoning , that produces paralysis of muscles, via a nerve toxin called botulinum toxin ("botox") that is manufactured by bacteria named Clostridium botulinum.
See the entire definition of Botulism

Brucellosis: An infectious disease due to the bacteria Brucella that causes rising and falling (undulant) fevers, sweats, malaise , weakness, anorexia , headache, myalgia (muscle pain) and back pain.
See the entire definition of Brucellosis

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the US agency charged with tracking and investigating public health trends. The stated mission of the CDC is "To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability." The CDC is a part of the U.S. Public Health Services (PHS) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
See the entire definition of CDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and investigating public health trends. The stated mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly called the CDC, is "To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability."
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Chlamydia: A type of bacteria one species of which causes an infection very similar to gonorrhea in the way that it is spread, the symptoms it produces, and the long-term consequences.
See the entire definition of Chlamydia

Cholera : A devastating and sometimes lethal disease with intense vomiting and profuse watery diarrhea leading to dehydration which, unless immediately treated, may be fatal.
See the entire definition of Cholera

Clostridium: A group of anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that thrive in the absence of oxygen ). There are 100+ species of Clostridium. They include, for examples, Clostridium difficile , Clostridium perfringens (also called Clostridium welchii), and Clostridium botulinum.
See the entire definition of Clostridium

Clostridium botulinum: A group of rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in the soil that grow best under low oxygen conditions. The bacteria form heat-resistant spores which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions that can support their growth. Clostridium botulinum produces botulinum toxin, a highly potent neurotoxin and the basis of the disease botulism .
See the entire definition of Clostridium botulinum

Clostridium perfringens: A type of bacteria that is the most common agent of gas gangrene and can also cause food poisoning as well as a fulminant form of bowel disease called necrotizing colitis.
See the entire definition of Clostridium perfringens

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs typically in order to clear the lung airways of fluids, mucus, or material. Also called tussis.

Cryptosporidiosis: An intestinal infection characterized by diarrhea caused by a microscopic parasite , Cryptosporidium parvum. The parasite lives in the small intestine of humans and animals who pass it in their feces . The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it resistant to chlorine disinfection. Both the disease and the parasite are popularly known as "Crypto." The disease is also called cryptosporidium enteritis.
See the entire definition of Cryptosporidiosis

Cryptosporidium: See: Cryptosporidiosis.

Cryptosporidium parvum: The parasite that causes the disease, cryptosporidiosis. See: Cryptosporidiosis.

Dengue: Also known as Dengue fever, an acute mosquito-borne viral illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, prostration, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy) and rash. The presence (the "dengue triad") of fever, rash, and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue. Dengue is endemic throughout the tropics and subtropics. It goes by other names including breakbone or dandy fever. Victims of dengue often have contortions due to the intense joint and muscle pain. Hence, the name "breakbone fever." Slaves in the West Indies who contracted dengue were said to have "dandy fever" because of their postures and gait.

Denture: An artificial set of teeth that can be removed.
See the entire definition of Denture

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
See the entire definition of Diagnosis

Eastern equine encephalitis: Abbreviated EEE. A mosquito-born viral disease. The EEE virus normally is found in freshwater swamp birds and mosquitoes that do not bite people. However, the virus is occasionally transmitted to other types of mosquitoes capable of biting horses and people. The risk of contracting EEE is highest in mid-to-late summer. The mosquitoes are killed by frost.
See the entire definition of Eastern equine encephalitis

Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis occurs, for example, in 1 in 1,000 cases of measles . It may start (up to 3 weeks) after onset of the measles rash and present with high fever , convulsions, and coma. It usually runs a blessedly short course with full recovery within a week. Or it may eventuate in central nervous system impairment or death.
See the entire definition of Encephalitis

Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period. A sudden severe outbreak of a disease such as SARS. From the Greek "epi-", "upon" + "demos", "people or population" = "epidemos" = "upon the population." See also: Endemic; Pandemic.

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Epidemic typhus: See: Typhus, epidemic.

Escherichia coli: Full term for E. coli, the colon bacillus.
See the entire definition of Escherichia coli

Essential: 1. Something that cannot be done without.
2. Required in the diet, because the body cannot make it. As in an essential amino acid or an essential fatty acid.
3. Idiopathic. As in essential hypertension. "Essential" is a hallowed term meaning "We don't know the cause."

Event: A set of outcomes. Cardiovascular events might include a heart attack and gastrointestinal events a GI bleed. The use of the term "event" in medicine comes from probability theory.

FDA: The Food and Drug Administration, an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
See the entire definition of FDA

Fever : Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.).
See the entire definition of Fever

Flu: Short for influenza. The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract which are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C. Most people who get the flu recover completely in 1 to 2 weeks, but some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as pneumonia. Much of the illness and death caused by influenza can be prevented by annual influenza vaccination.

Food and Drug Administration: The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
See the entire definition of Food and Drug Administration

Food poisoning : A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea , due to something the victim ate or drank that contained noxious bacteria, viruses, parasites, metals or toxins.
See the entire definition of Food poisoning

Germ: 1. A cell or group of cells (called a primordium ) capable of developing into an organ , a part or an organism in its entirety. Eggs and sperm are germ cells .

2. A pathogenic a microorganism. A microbe capable of causing disease . The germ theory of disease held, correctly, that these minute bodies can cause disease.

3. The figurative source or wellspring. Dr. Watson told Holmes he had the germ of an idea.
See the entire definition of Germ

Glanders: A bacterial infection that causes a chronic debilitating disease of equids (horses, mules, and donkeys) as well as some members of the cat family and is transmissible to people. The bacterium responsible for glanders is Burkholderia mallei (formerly called Pseudomonas mallei).
See the entire definition of Glanders

Headache : A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the head (occipital), or in the back of the upper neck. Headache, like chest pain or back ache, has many causes.
See the entire definition of Headache

Hearing aid: An instrument to help in hearing. There are four common styles of hearing aids.
See the entire definition of Hearing aid

Hemorrhagic: Pertaining to bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.
See the entire definition of Hemorrhagic

HEPA: Acronym that stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air and for High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestor.
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Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Hygeia but also Panaceia, the patroness of clinical medicine. Hygeia also followed her father into medicine. As the patroness of health, Hygeia was charged with providing a healthy environment to prevent illness. In Greek, "hygieia" means health.

Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
See the entire definition of Infection

Influenza: The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract which are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C. Most people who get the flu recover completely in 1 to 2 weeks, but some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as pneumonia. Much of the illness and death caused by influenza can be prevented by annual influenza vaccination.

Injure: To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emotional sense. Treadmill machines may injure anyone who gets on one. Sexual molestation injures children. From the Latin injuria meaning injury.

Isolate: A group in which mating is always between members of the group. For example, the Amish.

Lethal: Deadly, fatal, capable of causing death, death-dealing. The word "lethal" comes from the Latin "letum" meaning "death or destruction."

Lip: One of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth.
See the entire definition of Lip

Measles : An acute and highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever , runny nose, cough, red eyes, and a spreading skin rash . Measles , also known as rubeola, is a potentially disastrous disease. It can be complicated by ear infections, pneumonia , encephalitis (which can cause convulsions, mental retardation, and even death), the sudden onset of low blood platelet levels with severe bleeding (acute thrombocytopenic purpura), or a chronic brain disease that occurs months to years after an attack of measles (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis).
See the entire definition of Measles

Melioidosis : An infectious illness, also called Whitmore's disease, that is most frequent in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and is caused by a bacteria called "Pseudomonas pseudomallei" found in soil, rice paddies and stagnant waters. Humans catch the disease by inhalation of contaminated dust or when soil contaminated by the bacteria comes in contact with abraded (scraped) skin.
See the entire definition of Melioidosis

Mycobacterium: A large family of bacteria that have unusually waxy cell walls that are resistant to digestion.
See the entire definition of Mycobacterium

Nausea: Nausea, is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease. When nausea and/or vomiting are persistent, or when they are accompanied by other severe symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, or bleeding, a physician should be consulted.

Pandemic: An epidemic (a sudden outbreak) that becomes very widespread and affects a whole region, a continent, or the world.
See the entire definition of Pandemic

Pestis: The plague. An infectious disease due to a bacteria called Yersinia pestis .
See the entire definition of Pestis

Plague: The plague is an infectious disease due to a bacteria called Yersinia pestis .
See the entire definition of Plague

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning is still a major hazard to children, despite child-resistant (and sometimes adult-resistant) packaging and dose-limits per container.
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Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. A prescription has several parts. They include the superscription or heading with the symbol "R" or "Rx", which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign "s" standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container.

Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community as a whole. Public health is community health. It has been said that: "Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time."
See the entire definition of Public health

Q fever: An acute febrile illness due to Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii), a species of bacteria. Q fever is a zoonotic disease (contracted from animals). Aside from sudden onset of fever , there is headache, malaise, and pneumonia but no rash .
See the entire definition of Q fever

Quarantine: The period of isolation decreed to control the spread of infectious disease. Before the era of antibiotics, quarantine was one of the few available means for halting the spread of infectious diseases. It is still employed as needed. The list of quarantinable diseases in the US includes cholera , diphtheria , infectious tuberculosis , plague , smallpox , yellow fever , and viral hemorrhagic fevers (such as Marburg, Ebola and Congo-Crimean disease). In 2003, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was added as a quarantinable disease.
See the entire definition of Quarantine

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy waves often used in medicine. 2. The use of energy waves to diagnose or treat disease. See also: Irradiation.

Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand it. For example, some forms of staphylococcus are resistant to treatment with antibiotics.
See the entire definition of Resistance

Ricin: A potent protein toxin made from the waste left over from processing castor beans. The castor plant, which is called Ricinus communis, is found throughout the world. Ricin is fairly easy to extract. Worldwide a million tons of castor beans are processed annually in the production of castor oil. The waste mash from this process is 5% ricin by weight.
See the entire definition of Ricin

Rickettsia: A member of a group of microorganisms that (like viruses) require other living cells for growth but (like bacteria) use oxygen, have metabolic enzymes and cell walls, and are susceptible to antibiotics. Rickettsiae cause a series of diseases named for the American pathologist Howard Ricketts who discovered that ticks spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever and then isolated from the blood of infected animals and eggs of infected ticks the microorganism responsible for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus, trench fever and other similar conditions. While in Mexico in 1910 studying a typhus epidemic, Ricketts contracted the disease and died at age 39.(See Rickettsial diseases).

Salmonella: A group of bacteria that cause typhoid fever and a number of other illnesses, including food poisoning , gastroenteritis and enteric fever from contaminated food products.
See the entire definition of Salmonella

Shigella: A group of bacteria that normally inhabit the intestinal tract and cause infantile gastroenteritis, summer diarrhea of childhood and various forms of dysentery including epidemic and opportunistic bacillary dysentery. Named for the Japanese bacteriologist Kiyoshi Shiga (1870-1957).

Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.


See the entire definition of Skin

Smallpox: Also known as variola, a highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease characterized by a biphasic fever and a distinctive skin rash that left pock marks in its wake. Because of its high case-fatality rates and transmissibility, smallpox now represents a serious bioterrorist threat. The disease is caused by the variola virus. The incubation period is about 12 days (range: 7 to 17 days) following exposure. Initial symptoms include high fever, fatigue , and head and back aches. A characteristic rash, most prominent on the face, arms, and legs, follows in 2-3 days. The rash starts with flat red lesions that evolve at the same rate. Lesions become pus-filled and begin to crust early in the second week. Scabs develop and then separate and fall off after about 3-4 weeks.
See the entire definition of Smallpox

Spanish flu: A pandemic of influenza A (H1N1) in 1918-19 that caused the highest number of known flu deaths. More than 500,000 people died in the United States, and 20 million to 50 million people may have died worldwide. Many people died within the first few days after infection and others died of complications soon after. Nearly half of those who died were young, healthy adults. Also known as Spanish influenza.
See the entire definition of Spanish flu

Sunscreen: A substance that blocks the effect of the sun's harmful rays. Using lotions that contain sunscreens can reduce the risk of skin cancer, including melanoma.

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side effects and to improve the patient's comfort and quality of life.

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Toilet: 1. In medicine, cleansing of a wound and the skin around it. 2. In obstetrics, cleansing of a woman just after childbirth. 3. In dentistry, the cleaning out of a cavity before a restoration. 4. A device for the disposal of urine and feces. Or the room containing such a device.
See the entire definition of Toilet

Toxin: One of a number of poisons produced by certain plants, animals, and bacteria.
See the entire definition of Toxin

Tuberculosis : A highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Abbreviated TB. Tubercles (tiny lumps) are a characteristic finding in TB. Diagnosis may be made by skin test, which if positive should will be followed by a chest X-ray to determine the status (active or dormant) of the infection. Tuberculosis is more common in people with immune system problems, such as AIDS, than in the general population. Treatment of active tuberculosis is mandatory by law in the US, and should be available at no cost to the patient through the public health system. It involves a course of antibiotics and vitamins that lasts about six months. It is important to finish the entire treatment, both to prevent reoccurrence and to prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. Most patients with tuberculosis do not need to be quarantined, but it is sometimes necessary.
See the entire definition of Tuberculosis

Tularemia: A bacterial disease caused by infection with a bacterium called Francisella tularensis that usually occurs in wild and domestic animals, most often rabbits, and can be transmitted to humans by contact with animal tissues or ticks and fleas. Also called rabbit fever and deerfly fever.
See the entire definition of Tularemia

Typhus: One of a group of acute infections caused by rickettsiae, transmitted by arthropods (lice, fleas, mites), and characterized by severe headache, chills, high fever, stupor, and a rash. The four main entities making up the group are epidemic typhus, its recrudescent form (Brill-Zinsser disease), murine typhus, and scrub typhus. Called also typhus fever. See also: Brill-Zinsser disease; Epidemic typhus; Murine typhus; Scrub typhus.

Utility: In the analysis of health outcomes, utility is a number between 0 and 1 that is assigned to a state of health or an outcome. Perfect health has a value of 1. Death has a value of 0.

Variola: Smallpox, a highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease characterized by a biphasic (double-humped) fever and a distinctive skin rash that (if the patient survived) left pock marks in its wake. The English physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823) exploited the fact that cowpox created immunity to smallpox and successfully developed an attenuated (weakened) virus vaccine for smallpox. Thanks to vaccination, smallpox has been eradicated. It was so named because the pocks were small and the disease was seen as less than the "great pox" (syphilis).

Vibrio: A group of bacteria that includes Vibrio cholerae, the agent of cholera, (a devastating and sometimes lethal disease with profuse watery diarrhea) and Vibrio comma (which is shaped like a comma). Vibrio move about actively . The word "vibrio" in Latin means "to quiver."

Vibrio cholerae: One of the Vibrio bacteria, V. cholerae (as the name implies) is the agent of cholera , a devastating and sometimes lethal disease with profuse watery diarrhea .
See the entire definition of Vibrio cholerae

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, "My daughter has a viral rash ."
See the entire definition of Viral

Viral encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain as a result of virus infection. There are many viruses that cause viral encephalitis.

Virus: A microorganism smaller than a bacteria, which cannot grow or reproduce apart from a living cell. A virus invades living cells and uses their chemical machinery to keep itself alive and to replicate itself. It may reproduce with fidelity or with errors (mutations)-this ability to mutate is responsible for the ability of some viruses to change slightly in each infected person, making treatment more difficult.
See the entire definition of Virus

Viruses: Small living particles that can infect cells and change how the cells function. Infection with a virus can cause a person to develop symptoms. The disease and symptoms that are caused depend on the type of virus and the type of cells that are infected.

West Nile encephalitis: A febrile disease caused by the West Nile virus that is transmitted from birds to the common Culex mosquito and then to people. The virus is named after the area it was first found in Uganda.
See the entire definition of West Nile encephalitis

Yersinia: A group of bacteria that appear rod-like under the microscope and include Yersinia pestis (the cause of the bubonic and pneumonic plague ), Yersinia entercolitica (the cause of a disease called yersinosis ), and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (which causes a condition called mesenteric adenitis, particularly in immunocompromised patients). Both Y. entercolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis have also been implicated in a viral form of arthritis . Infection with Yersinia bacteria can be treated with antibiotics.
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Yersinia pestis: The bacteria that causes 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."
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Bioterrorism

Overview

Plague is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. These bacteria are found mainly in rodents, particularly rats, and in the fleas that feed on them. Other animals and humans usually contract the bacteria from rodent or flea bites.

Historically, plague destroyed entire civilizations. In the 1300s, the "Black Death," as it was called, killed approximately one-third (20 to 30 million) of Europe's population. In the mid-1800s, it killed 12 million people in China. Today, thanks to better living conditions, antibiotics, and improved sanitation, current World Health Organization statistics show there were only 2,118 cases in 2003 worldwide.

Approximately 10 to 20 people in the United States develop plague each year from flea or rodent bites—primarily from infected prairie dogs—in rural areas of the southwestern United States. About 1 in 7 of those infected die from the disease. There h...

Read the Plague article »









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