Plague Masquerading as Gastrointestinal Illness

In clinical descriptions of human plague, fever and tender lymphadenitis are emphasized and gastrointestinal manifestations are rarely mentioned. A review of 71 human plague cases showed that gastrointestinal symptoms occurred commonly (57%). Vomiting (39%) was the most frequent symptom, with nausea (34%), diarrhea (28%) and abdominal pain (17%) occurring less often. Physicians treating patients who reside in or have recently visited plague-endemic areas should include plague in the differential diagnosis in the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms and fever.