Return of bubonic plague sparks search for new vaccines

Plague arrived in Europe like the opening of a Clive Cussler novel, on a ship of death carrying corpses of individuals felled by some unimaginable, mysterious, and previously unseen disease.

In October 1347, Yersinia pestis, the plague-causing organism, arrived in Sicily on Genoese trading ships that had sailed through the Black Sea past Constantinople and through the Mediterranean. The majority of the sailors aboard the ships were dead; those still alive were extremely ill, overcome with fever and suffering great pain.

Most terrifyingly, they were covered with the oozing black boils that gave rise to the name “the Black Death”. The disease laid waste to one third of Europe’s population over the next five years (more than 20 million people). But resurgences of late have scientists and epidemiologists concerned.

Most recently, a town of 30,000 in China was shut down after from a local man died from bubonic plague, apparently contracted from a marmot. Since September 2013, 84 cases and 42 deaths had been reported in four of Madagascar’s 112 districts, of which 60 cases were, most worryingly, pneumonic plague.

This type of spread has not been documented in the U.S. since 1924, but still occurs with some frequency in developing countries. And Y. pestis, scientists have pointed out, displays natural genetic plasticity and can acquire antibiotic resistance. It has been weaponized through aerosolization.

The potential use of plague as a weapon along with recent outbreaks, the FDA says, has created an urgent need to develop and license new plague vaccines that can provide protection against both forms of the disease.

Read the full, original story: Developing new therapies to address the re-emergence of Bubonic Plague

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
screenshot at  pm

Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring drew attention to pesticides and their possible dangers to humans, birds, mammals and the ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.