the name for the
bacteria which causes
bubonic plague, a serious and sometimes fatal infection characterized by a very high fever, weakness and swellings on the
body (known as buboes), especially in the groin and armpit areas. Pasteurella pestis has caused a number of
plague epidemics in ancient and medieval
times. For
example, in the fourteenth century, an
epidemic killed around 25 million people in Europe.
organism causing
bubonic plague. See also
bubonic plague in this glossary.