Rarely a person may develop plague ingesting an inoculum of the bacteria, usually after eating meat from an infected animal. The condition is similar to that seen in cats or other carnivores in the wild.
Possible routes of infection:
(1) eating raw or undercooked meat from a sick animal
(2) chewing on infected fleas
(3) eating food contaminated with rodent excreta
Clinical features:
(1) severe pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and/or submandibular lymphadenitis
(2) fever in range 39-40°C
(3) chills and malaise
(4) myalgias
(5) vomiting
(6) headache
(7) delirium
(8) dysphagia
(9) sometimes abdominal pain
(10) sometimes progression to bacteremia and septic shock
Laboratory findings:
(1) leukocytosis
(2) bacterial cultures positive for Y. pestis
Differential diagnosis:
(1) diphtheria
(2) tuberculosis
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