Editing Plague (disease) (section)

===Pneumonic plague===
{{Main|Pneumonic plague}}
The [[pneumonia|pneumonic]] form of plague arises from [[infection]] of the [[human lung|lungs]]. It causes coughing and thereby produces [[Airborne disease|airborne]] droplets that contain [[bacteria]]l cells and are likely to infect anyone inhaling them. The [[incubation period]] for pneumonic plague is short, usually two to four days, but sometimes just a few hours. The initial signs are indistinguishable from several other respiratory illnesses; they include headache, weakness, and spitting or vomiting of blood. The course of the disease is rapid; unless diagnosed and treated soon enough, typically within a few hours, death may follow in one to six days; in untreated cases, mortality is nearly 100%.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Ryan |editor-first=K. J. |editor2-last=Ray |editor2-first=C. G. |title=Sherris Medical Microbiology: An Introduction to Infectious Diseases |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8385-8529-0 }}</ref><ref name="Hoffman1980">{{cite journal| author=Hoffman SL| title=Plague in the United States: the "Black Death" is still alive| journal=Annals of Emergency Medicine| year=1980| volume=9| pages=319–22| doi=10.1016/S0196-0644(80)80068-0| issue=6| pmid=7386958}}</ref>