Who is at risk for plague?

• People who live in rural areas where plague occurs in wild rodents
• People, such as biologists, trappers, and hunters, who handle potentially infected animals
• Campers, hikers, travelers, and others in areas where plague is known to exist
• People in close contact with pneumonic plague patients

What is the treatment for plague?

If diagnosed in time, plague is treatable with antibiotics. Treatment of suspected plague cases should start as soon as possible after the laboratory specimens are taken. The drug of choice is streptomycin, but several other antibiotics are also effective.

How is plague diagnosed?

U.S. health-care providers should suspect plague in anyone with large, painful, very tender lymph gland accompanied by fever, extreme tiredness, and a history of exposure to possibly infected rodents and their fleas in the western United States. Plague should also be suspected in a person with plague symptoms plus a history of handling sick or dead cats, or wild animals such as rabbits.

Patients with suspected plague should be hospitalized, placed in isolation, have specimens obtained for plague diagnosis, and immediately treated. All suspected plague cases must also be reported to local and state health departments.

Ref: http://www.dhpe.org/infect/plague.html