plague: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 8, 2026

Photos and Videos

two plague victims with sores lying in bed, while a robed figure gestures above them.

Illustration showing people in distress on a city street during the Great Plague of London, with collapsed figures, mourners, and a church in the background.

Great Plague of London

World map showing the spread of major plague outbreaks from 1885 to the present, with arrows tracing the sea routes of the third plague pandemic from Asia to ports in Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and Europe. Key cities and years of significant outbreaks are labeled, and shaded areas indicate regions where plague persists in wild rodent populations today.

Know the investigations of researchers using genomic information to reconstruct the cause and transmission routes of the bubonic plague and the Black Death

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Topics

pneumonic plague sylvatic plague septicemic plague Today in History—July 27: When and Where the World’s First Quarantine Began bubonic plague biological weapon flea rodent plague doctor notifiable disease cholera malaria leprosy tuberculosis Ebola bird flu syphilis Guinea worm disease anthrax typhus

Key People

Baillou, detail of an oil painting by an unknown artist, c. 1580

Guillaume de Baillou

French physician

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