a contagious disease, the most common form of plague, caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) transmitted by fleas from infected rats, and characterized by buboes, fever, prostration, and delirium
See bubonic plague in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A contagious, often fatal epidemic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia (syn. Pasteurella) pestis, transmitted from person to person or by the bite of fleas from an infected rodent, especially a rat, and characterized by chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and the formation of buboes.