Copyright 1997

By: Chris Van Deelen  chrisv@nucleus.com

     I found the information to write up these diseases on a very interesting
and Informative
web site called 'Outbreak'.  This site has an active outbreak listing, plus
information regarding some of the deadliest disease's known to mankind.  If it
wasn't for this web page, I would not have been able to create this dreaded
nasty to be used with the disease system I wrote up for The Morrow Project.
     If interested, the address for the web site is listed below:

     www.outbreak.org/cgi-unreg/dynaserve.exe/index.html

Bubonic Plague, Septicemic plague

     Bubonic Plague
     SU - (E) - ST - 1D4+2 Days - 4 - 2 hours
     Medium headache, coughing boughts, pain, ulceration (occure only in
groin, armpits, or  cervical areas).

     Septicemic plague
     SU - (E) - CON - 1D4+2 Days - 2 Hours
     Medium headache, coughing boughts, pain, Rhuematoid condition in arms
and legs.

     The varieties differ as to what part of the body the disease primarily
manifests itself.  Bubonic plague is centered on the lymphatic system,
creating swelling lymph nodes, or buboes, from which it derives it's name. 
Septicemic plague indicates the disease has entered the bloodstream.
     Typical symptoms of plague include sudden onset of fever, shaking
chills, headache, muscle pains, malaise, prostration, and often
gastrointestinal symptoms. Persons with bubonic plague develop infected,
swollen, lymph nodes (buboes). These buboes usually occur in the groin,
armpits, or cervical areas.  Complications of septicemia include septic shock,
consumptive coagulopathy (a blood clotting disorder), coma, and meningitis
(inflammation of membranes surrounding the brain or spinal chord).
     The incubation period for bubonic cases is usually 3-6 days, but
occasionally can be longer.
     The most commonly affected sites are the lymph nodes nearest the initial
site of infection. As Y. pestis multiplies in the lymph nodes, they become
highly swollen, collect fluid, and become extremely tender. Such swollen lymph
nodes are termed buboes, hence bubonic, and are the most readily identifiable
manifestation of plague.  Y. pestis also can invade the bloodstream
(septicemic plague). If Y. pestis invades the bloodstream, it can spread to
other sites in the body, including the liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, and
occasionally the meninges (membranes surrounding the brain or spinal chord)
and eyes. Infrequently, Y. pestis causes ulcers at the point of initial
infection.
     The most common route of infection for humans is through an insect
vector (fleas).  A possible scenario would be transmission via a flea which
was feeding on a wild plague host, the flea could be transferred to a domestic
pet, then brought home to infect the human owner. Infected animals, wild or
domestic, can also infect humans directly, by scratching or biting.
     Person-to-person transmission in the absence of symptoms is extremely
unlikely.
     A survivor cannot transmit Plague to others after she or he has fully
recovered.
     Plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics if initiated early
in the course of illness.
     Recurrence of plague in persons who survive an initial bout of the
disease is rare but has been reported. Persons who recover from plague are
likely to be immune to reinfection for some months to years afterwards but the
duration of this immunity will vary from person to person