Pneumonic Plague News and Research

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University of Louisville scientists aim to disarm Yersinia pestis, the bubonic plague bacteria

When the body encounters bacteria, viruses or harmful substances, its innate immune cells, neutrophils, assemble at the site to combat the invader.

5 Jan 2024

Scientists document person-to-person transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pneumonic plague

Although the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many other dangerous pathogens still out there, like Yersinia pestis, which causes plague – the deadly disease that killed tens of millions of people during the infamous Black Death in the 14th century.

13 Aug 2021

Parts of Lake Tahoe close after chipmunks test positive for plague

Officials are closing some areas on the south shore of Lake Tahoe after some chipmunks tested positive for plague, an infectious disease that affects both humans and other mammals.

4 Aug 2021

Mongolia warns of suspected bubonic plague

Mongolia has issued a warning to residents in the western Khovd region after two people are suspected of having the bubonic plague. The National Center for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD) states that the disease is linked to the consumption of marmots, a relatively large ground squirrel.

6 Jul 2020

New strain of coronavirus sparks concerns of a wider outbreak throughout China

Reports of a new strain of coronavirus causing pneumonia-like symptoms in the central Chinese city of Wuhan have sparked concerns of a wider outbreak throughout China and possibly in other countries.

21 Jan 2020

The Black Death still lurks all over the world

Beijing, the capital of the economic giant, China, is in the news currently for a far different reason – two patients have developed pneumonic plague. The patients, who hail from Inner Mongolia’s northwestern corner, are being treated at a high-level hospital there, amidst 21 million other people. The health authorities say they have put in place adequate protection and control measures to keep the plague from spreading.

17 Nov 2019

Scientists characterize 2017 pneumonic plague outbreak in Madagascar

Plague is an endemic disease in Madagascar. Each year there is a seasonal upsurge between September and April, especially in the Central Highlands, which stand at an elevation of more than 800 m.

16 Apr 2019

Earliest strain of plague bacteria found in neolithic Swedish mass grave

Researchers have unearthed a strain of plague bacteria Yersinia pestis, in a woman who was buried in Sweden during the stone ages.

6 Dec 2018

Scientists develop dual anthrax-plague vaccine

A team of researchers has now engineered a virus nanoparticle vaccine against Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis, tier 1 agents that pose serious threats to national security of the United States. B. anthracis and Y. pestis are the pathogens that cause anthrax and plague, respectively.

16 Oct 2018

WHO: Madagascar’s pneumonic plague outbreak shows steady decline, but response must be sustained

Madagascar’s unprecedented outbreak of pneumonic plague is slowing down but the response must be sustained, WHO cautioned on Monday (November 27).

5 Dec 2017

Risk of pneumonic plague epidemic in Madagascar spreading to other nations is limited

Mathematical models have proven the risk of the on-going pneumonic plague epidemic in Madagascar spreading elsewhere in the world is limited, with the estimated number of exported cases staying below 0.1 person in each country between August 1 and October 17.

30 Nov 2017

Suspected plague cases from Seychelles tested negative at WHO partner laboratory

Samples from patients in Seychelles suspected to be ill with pneumonic plague tested negative at a World Health Organization partner laboratory in Paris, France on Tuesday (17 October).

20 Oct 2017

Plague outbreak in Madagascar kills 57 and rages on

The plague outbreak in Madagascar is killing scores of people and affecting hundreds. Last estimated on the 12th of October 2017, there are 57 reported deaths due to the disease with 680 down with the infection. Of these 25 deaths and 329 cases are from the capital city of Antananarivo.

16 Oct 2017

WHO delivers 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to prevent, treat plague in Madagascar

WHO has delivered nearly 1.2 million doses of antibiotics and released US$1.5 million dollars in emergency funds to fight plague in Madagascar

9 Oct 2017

Plague endemic in man since early Bronze Age, but has not always been flea-borne

A recent analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that the plaque had been endemic in humans for at least 3000 years before the first global outbreak on record (the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD). Furthermore, the disease was not always transmitted by fleas, with mutation to the bubonic form only occurring around the start of the 1st millennium BC.

23 Oct 2015

Pneumonic plague transmission from dog to man

Pneumonic plague is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Y pestis is usually carried by rodents and can be transmitted to humans through a bite from an infected rodent or rodent flea or inhalation of infectious droplets...

1 May 2015

Aradigm begins Pulmaquin Phase III study for treatment of non-CF BE

Aradigm Corporation ("Aradigm" or the "Company") today announced the dosing of the first patient in the ORBIT-4 (Once-daily Respiratory Bronchiectasis Inhalation Treatment) Phase III pivotal clinical trial of Aradigm's proprietary formulation of inhaled ciprofloxacin (Pulmaquin®) for the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (non-CF BE).

23 Jun 2014