Prognosis

Patients with plague may develop meningitis (infection and swelling of the brain), septic shock (a serious systemwide blood infection), tissue death and bleeding, and swelling around the heart. All may lead to death.

• The death rate is 1-15% for those treated for bubonic plague.
• A person with primary or secondary septicemic plague (infection is active in the bloodstream and the patient has shock symptoms) has a 40% death rate, even when treated.
• Pneumonic plague has 100% death rate if not treated within the first 24 hours.