Treatment for Bubonic Plague

People potentially infected with the plague need immediate treatment and should be given antibiotics within 24 hours of the first symptoms to prevent death. Other treatments include oxygen, intravenous fluids, and respiratory support. People who have had contact with anyone infected by pneumonic plague are given prophylactic antibiotics. Using the broad-based antibiotic streptomycin has proven to be dramatically successful against the bubonic plague within 12 hours of infection.

Plague is a very serious illness, but is treatable with commonly available antibiotics. The earlier a patient seeks medical care and receives treatment that is appropriate for plague, the better their chances are of a full recovery.

People in close contact with very sick pneumonic plague patients may be evaluated and possibly placed under observation. Preventive antibiotic therapy may also be given, depending on the type and timing of personal contact.

If a doctor even thinks that you could have the bubonic plague you are immediately admitted to the hospital and put in an isolation room. You are then given very powerful antibiotics. These are administered either intravenously (through the veins) or intramuscularly (through the muscles). The antibiotics are given for a full 7 to 10 days. The most effective antibiotics used are called streptomycin and gentamicin. People who have been exposed to a person with the bubonic plague, even if they have no symptoms, still need to be treated with antibiotics. These antibiotics are oral, taken for 7 days and will help prevent the person from coming down with the plague.

People with the plague need immediate treatment. If treatment is not received within 24 hours of when the first symptoms occur, death may occur.

Antibiotics such as streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline, or ciprofloxacin are used to treat plague. Oxygen, intravenous fluids, andrespiratory support usually are also needed.

Patients with pneumonic plague should be strictly isolated from caregivers and other patients. People who have had contact with anyone infected by pneumonic plague should be watched carefully and given antibiotics as a preventive measure.