Bubonic Plague

Bubonic plague is a contagious, deadly disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Sometimes referred to simply as "the plague," this disease has played a major role in world history. Because plague is highly contagious, it is easily transmitted from one person to another. Worldwide epidemics of the disease (called pandemics) have decimated populations since A.D. 542, when the first evidence of plague was recorded. Plague is rarely seen in the United States today, but is still epidemic in Southeast Asia.