How effective is the treatment for the plague?

Somewhat effective: Patients with suspected plague are put in strict isolation units and treatment is started with antibiotics such as gentamicin, streptomycin, doxycycline, tetracyline, Septra, (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) ciprofloxacin, or chloramphenicol. With treatment, the death rate drops from about 50% to about 15% (the majority of the cases are bubonic plague). Pneumonic plague is fatal if treatment is not started in 24 hours.

Plague: The plague - bubonic plague - is caused by a particular bacteria. When it wiped out populations it was because fleas spread it and there were no antibiotics at the time. Now there are classes of antibiotics that kill the yersinia bacteria that causes it.