Since this disease does not represent a risk for the ordinary traveler, the vaccination is not recommended. Only field workers and naturalists who expect to have contact with possibly plague-infected wild rodents or rabbits in rural areas where this disease is present (China, India, Indonesia, Kazakstan, Lao, Myanmar, Mongolia and Vietnam) may consider vaccination. In the recent past several cases of plague have been reported in Africa and America (Brasil, Congo-Zaire, Mozambique, Peru, Uganda and USA).

For adults, the primary series of the only vaccine manufactured (inactivated) consist in three doses given by the intramuscular route (deltoid muscle), at months 0-2-6. The frist three boosters should be given every 6 months, followed by boosters every 1-2 years, if the high risk of infection subsists. Reactions to this vaccine mainly consist in pain, local induration, erythema, sterile abscesses, fever, malaise and headache, that become more severe with repeated doses. Fatal events or disabling conditions have not been reported.

The efficacy of the vaccine is not known, and is not usefull to control outbreaks.

Fernando Costa Silva, 1999 (last update: 2009)