Despite the fact that the plague no longer wreaks the same havoc as it did in the XNUMXth century, still single people suffer from this dangerous disease. Now scientists have discovered a strain of plague that can spread from person to person and is resistant to many drugs.
- The plague continues to wreak havoc in many parts of the world where healthcare is underdeveloped
- Scientists have just discovered a plague stick strain that is resistant to treatment
- More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page
The new strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, responsible for the transmission of the plague, is resistant to the drugs to combat the disease that have been invented so far. The discovery was made by scientists at the Institute of Pathogens and Microbiome at the University of Northern Arizona. In their opinion, the new strain of Yersinia pestis was responsible for the last cases of the plague in 2013.
Plague in the World: Infections and Treatment
While the world is currently focused on combating the COVID-19 coronavirus, scientists warn that there are still other pathogens responsible for deadly diseases, such as plague. And while it has been largely eradicated, it still affects hundreds of people around the world every year.
- The plague is still dangerous. Here’s what we need to know about this disease
The newly discovered strain responsible for the spread of the plague is resistant to drugs used to treat this disease, incl. streptomycin.
This is not the first time that specialists have discovered a pathogen that cannot be eliminated with available drugs. In 2017, a 16-year-old boy fell ill with the plague in Madagascar. It turned out that in his case no previous antibiotic could help. The boy was infected with Yersinia pestis. However, scientists reassure that the new strain responds to other antibiotics that have not yet been used to treat the plague.
But now it has turned out that the bacterium is not only resistant to many drugs, but also it can spread from person to person. In 2013, 22 people fell ill with the plague in Madagascar, three of whom died. Most of those infected fell ill after the funeral of one of the deceased. It was during the ceremony that there could be enough infection from the deceased.
– The first time we established that strains Y. pestis AMR can be transmitted from person to person, said Professor Dave Wagner of the Institute of Pathogens and Microbiome at the University of Northern Arizona.
What are the symptoms of the plague?
Plague comes in three forms: bubonic, pulmonary and sepsis. The most common is bubo, which is passed on to humans by flea bites, and if left untreated, it can infect the lungs and turn into pulmonary plague.
In turn, the pulmonary plague is considered to be the most contagious. It is transmitted from person to person by the droplet method. And it infects hundreds of people, mostly in rural Asia and Africa.
Serious plague outbreaks are rare because they are easily treated with antibacterial drugs. At least for now. As the new discovery of scientists shows, we cannot always count on antibacterial drugs available on the market. The Yersinia pestis strain is resistant to them.
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