Treatment of Yersinia pestis

Photo: NIAID Biodefense Research

The first mass vaccination campaigns began in 1934.  Prophylactic therapy is a type of therapy for those in close contact with people infected with Yersinia pestis.  These people are treated with Sulfonamide or Tetracycline.

For those suffering from plague, treatment is broad but the three main antibiotics are Streptomyacin, Tetracycline, and Chloramphenicol.  The latter is the most frequently used.

In 1995 the first multiresistant strain of Yersinia pestis was isolated in Madagascar.  Most recently in 2000 and 2001, drug resistant strains of bubonic plague were discovered, again in Madagascar.

Kristi Taylor