Plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Rodents, such as rats, carry the disease. It is spread by their fleas. People can get the plague when they are bitten by a flea that carries the plague bacteria from an infected rodent. In rare cases, you may get the disease when handling an infected animal.
A plague lung infection called as pneumonic plague can spread from human to human. When someone with pneumonic plague coughs, tiny droplets carrying the bacteria move through the air. Anyone who breathes in these particles may catch the disease. An epidemic may be started this way.
The three most common forms of plague are: Bubonic plague - an infection of the lymph nodes, pneumonic plague is infection of the lungs; Septicemic plague is an infection of the blood
The time between being infected & developing symptoms is typically 2 to 7 days, but may be as short as 1 day for pneumonic plague.
Risk factors for plague include a recent flea bite & exposure to rodents, especially rabbits, squirrels, or prairie dogs, or scratches or bites from infected domestic cats.
The plague is mentioned in Hadees as Ta’aoon (الطَّاعُونُ) & it is a type of disease in animals, it is widely spread contagious diseases,
It is caused by Yersinia pestis, it is a small gram negative organism, which infects the rodents (large rats) & fleas, & by them it spreads among human, in an endemic form. It is also called as Black Death.
It mostly affects the lymph nodes, & called as Bubonic plague (lymph nodes are present throughout the body, but lymph nodes of groin get infected the most & called Bubonic plague, also axilla (under arm) has no other glands than lymph nodes (glands).
1. Narrated by Saud رضي الله عنه that Nabi ﷺ said: "If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place."
[Bukhari: 5728; Book. 76; English vol. 7; Book. 71; Hadees. 624]
2. Narrated by Amir Bin Saad Bin Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه that he heard Usama Bin Zaid speaking to Saad, saying: That Nabi ﷺ mentioned the plague & said: It is a means of punishment with which some nations were punished & some of it has remained & it appears now & then. So, whoever hears that there is an outbreak of plague in some land, he should not go to that land & if the plague breaks out in the land where one is already present, one should not run away from that land, escaping from the plague.
[Bukhari: 6974; Book. 90; English vol. 9; Book. 86; Hadees no. 104]
3. Narrated by Usama Bin Zaid رضي الله عنه that Nabi ﷺ said: Plague was a means of torture sent on a group of Israelis (or on some people before you). So if you hear of its spread in a land, don't approach it & if a plague should appear in a land where you are present, then don't leave that land in order to run away from it (i.e. plague).
[Bukhari: 3473; Book. 60; English vol. 4; Book. 55; Hadees. 679]
4. Narrated by A’isha رضي الله عنها that she asked Nabi ﷺ about plague & Nabi ﷺ informed her saying: Plague was a punishment which Allah used to send on whom He wished, but Allah made it a blessing for the believers. None (among the believers) remains patience in a land in which plague has broken out & considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, but that Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr.
[Bukhari: 5734; Book. 76; English vol. 7; Book. 71; Hadees. 630]
5. Narrated by Anas Bin Malik رضي الله عنه that Nabi ﷺ said: Plague is the cause of martyrdom for Muslim (الطَّاعُونُ شهادةٌ لكلِّ مُسْلِم) (who dies because of it).
[Bukhari: 2830; Book. 56; English vol. 4; Book. 52; Hadees. 83]
6. Narrated by Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that Nabi ﷺ said: He (a Muslim) who dies of an abdominal disease is a martyr & he who dies of plague is a martyr.
[Bukhari: 5733; Book. 76; English vol. 7; Book. 71; Hadees. 629]
7. Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that Nabi ﷺ said: The martyrs are five: Those who die of the plague, stomach illness, drowning, being crushed & the martyr in the cause of Allah.
[Tirmizi: 1063; Book. 10, English vol. 2; Book. 5, Hadees. 1063]
8. Narrated by Safwan Bin Umayyah رضي الله عنه said: The plagues, abdominal illness, drowning & dying in childbirth are martyrdom. (One of the narrators) said: Abu Usman narrated this to us several times & on one occasion he attributed it to Nabi ﷺ.
[Nasa’i: 2054; Book. 21; English vol. 3; Book. 21, Hadees. 2056]
9. Narrated by Abu Hurairah that Nabi ﷺ said: Neither Messiah (Dajjal) nor plague will enter Madinah.
[Bukhari: 5731; Book. 76; English vol. 7; Book. 71; Hadees. 627]
10. Hazrat A’isha رضي الله عنها narrates that she asked Nabi ﷺ about the plague & Nabi ﷺ said: (غُدَّةٌ كَغُدَّةِ البَعيرِ يَخْرُجُ في المَرَاقِّ والإِبْط) "A gland that is similar to the camel’s gland & which appears in the tender parts of the abdomen & under the arms".
[Zaad Al Ma'aad: 4/38, & Musnad Ahmed: 6/145]
11. It was reported in Hadees: (إذا طَلعَ النَّجْمُ ارْتَفَعَت الْعَاهَةُ عن كلِّ بَلَدٍ) When the Najm (literally: star) appears, every epidemic is removed from every land. (Najm is said to mean the star or the plants that appear in spring).
[Musnad Ahmed: 9027, & Tabrani: 1305]
People with the plague need immediate treatment. If treatment is not received within 24 hours of when the first symptoms occur, death may occur. Antibiotics such as streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline, or ciprofloxacin are used to treat plague. Oxygen, intravenous fluids & respiratory support usually are also needed. Patients with pneumonic plague should be strictly isolated from caregivers & other patients. People who are in contact with anyone infected by pneumonic plague should be watched carefully & given antibiotics as a preventive measure.