Infected flea bites
The most common route. Fleas move the bacterium among infected rodents and other hosts and may bite people.
PLAGUE GUIDE / TRANSMISSION
The transmission chain connects animals, fleas and people.
Understanding each route is essential to interpreting natural foci, case maps and contact tracing.
Contact with infected animals
Handling infected tissue or fluids can allow bacteria to enter through broken skin or mucous membranes.
Close-range respiratory droplets
Only pneumonic plague spreads between people through respiratory particles, usually during close contact with a symptomatic patient.
A map point is not a transmission zone
An event point represents the approximate location supported by public reporting. It does not mean that an entire city or region is exposed, and it does not trace an individual’s movements.