Pneumonic Plague News and Research

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Scientists discover how bacterium Y. pestis overwhelms lungs to cause pneumonic plague

Northwestern Medicine scientists are continuing to unravel the molecular changes that underlie one of the world's deadliest and most infamous respiratory infections.

15 Apr 2014

Aradigm reports record revenue of $4.6M in fourth quarter 2013

Aradigm Corporation (the "Company") today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2013.

13 Mar 2014

Plague detection through anti-carbohydrate antibodies could lead to rapid diagnosis

Even today, the lives of humans and animals are claimed by plague. A new antibody-based detection method can be used to reliably and sensitively identify plague in patient serum and other biological samples.

18 Jul 2013

Aradigm’s Lipoquin provides full protection in murine models of pneumonic plague

Scientists from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) report, in a preliminary study, that they have demonstrated that a single dose of Aradigm Corporation's liposomal ciprofloxacin formulation Lipoquin administered 24 hours after exposure to a lethal dose of the bacterium Yersinia pestis provided full protection in a murine model of pneumonic plague.

20 Nov 2012

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Levaquin (levofloxacin) to treat patients with plague, a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. The agency also approved the drug to reduce the risk of getting plague after exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease.

30 Apr 2012

Pneumonic plague bacteria transform lungs into a playground for microbes to flourish

Among medical mysteries baffling many infectious disease experts is exactly how the deadly pneumonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, goes undetected in the first few day of lung infection, often until it's too late for medical treatment.

1 Feb 2012

GlobalPost examines how Indian city of Surat cleaned up after 1994 plague outbreak

GlobalPost reports how, spurred by an outbreak of the pneumonic plague in 1994, the Indian city of Surat "successfully went from one of the country's dirtiest cities to one of its cleanest in 18 short months." The news service writes that "after 54 residents died and some 300,000 fled to escape a possible quarantine, the people who stuck around were willing to get with the program -- working to eliminate the tons of garbage and overflowing sewers that had inundated the city with disease-carrying rats."

30 Sep 2011

Researchers identify new component of plague causing bacterium that can be used as a vaccine

Researchers from the Smiley lab at the Trudeau Institute have now identified a single component of the plague causing bacterium that can be used as a vaccine. This single "subunit" could potentially be used to create a safer form of a T cell-stimulating plague vaccine. The new data is featured in the July issue of The Journal of Immunology.

27 Jun 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers to develop vaccine for plague

Given the many pressing concerns of the day, fear of plague probably isn't what causes most Americans to lose sleep. But for those whose responsibility it is to combat bioterrorism, plague is among the highest priorities. Those charged with that mission include scientists like medical researcher Steve Smiley, whose lab at the Trudeau Institute is working to develop a vaccine that will protect the public against weaponized forms of plague.

21 Sep 2010

Non-human primate study results of Restanza released

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., today announced positive top-line results from a pivotal, non-human primate study involving its novel, once-a-day, oral antibiotic Restanza(TM) (cethromycin) demonstrating statistical significance at a 90% survival rate against an inhaled lethal dose of plague.

30 Sep 2009

Bloomberg examines China plague cases, potential for disease spread

"Plague-spreading fleas are expanding their territory, putting more people at risk of catching the lethal illness, a WHO official said," Bloomberg reports, in an article that examines the recent deaths of three people in China from the pneumonic plague.

6 Aug 2009

Plague in China; U.S. contribution to clean water initiatives; TB vaccine trial; HIV in Mozambique; New HIV strain

A third person died of pneumonic plague in China on Monday, local health authorities said, Xinhua reports. The outbreak began on July 30 and an additional nine people in the town of Ziketan are reportedly ill (8/3). "Pneumonic plague, which attacks the lungs, is closely related to bubonic plague," writes the New York Times.

4 Aug 2009

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today.

31 Jul 2008

Scientists mimic molecules to protect against plague

Bacteria that cause pneumonic plague can evade our first-line defences, making it difficult for the body to fight infection. In fact, a signature of the plague is the lack of an inflammatory response. Now, scientists have discovered a way to protect against death following infection with plague bacteria, by using molecules that can mimic the pathogens. According to research published in the July issue of Microbiology, these molecules make antibiotics more effective and can even be used to protect against other diseases.

13 Jul 2008

Pneumonic Plague News and Research

Scientists discover how bacterium Y. pestis overwhelms lungs to cause pneumonic plague

Aradigm reports record revenue of $4.6M in fourth quarter 2013

Plague detection through anti-carbohydrate antibodies could lead to rapid diagnosis

Aradigm’s Lipoquin provides full protection in murine models of pneumonic plague

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

Pneumonic plague bacteria transform lungs into a playground for microbes to flourish

GlobalPost examines how Indian city of Surat cleaned up after 1994 plague outbreak

Researchers identify new component of plague causing bacterium that can be used as a vaccine

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Researchers to develop vaccine for plague

Non-human primate study results of Restanza released

Bloomberg examines China plague cases, potential for disease spread

Plague in China; U.S. contribution to clean water initiatives; TB vaccine trial; HIV in Mozambique; New HIV strain

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

Scientists mimic molecules to protect against plague

Scientists discover way to protect against death following plague infection

A plasminogen-activating protease specifically controls the development of primary pneumonic plague

Insecurity fans spread of pneumonic plague in Congo

2006 yet 100 die in the Congo from the plague

Pneumonic plague in the Congo

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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