Scientists have reconstructed the genome of the first recorded bubonic
plague and compared it to two later pandemics. New sophisticated strains
of the disease that killed millions of Europeans in the Middle Ages
could break out in future, they warn.
Researchers have managed to
extract the DNA from the teeth of two victims of the Plague of
Justinian, a pandemic that swept through the Byzantine Empire in AD
541-542, found in an early medieval cemetery in German Bavaria,
according to a study published Tuesday by The Lancet Infectious
Diseases.
The Plague of Justinian is believed to have wiped out
up to half the world's known population at the time. The new research
clearly links the Plague of Justinian with the Black Death bubonic
plague, which was spread by rats in the 14th to 17th centuries, and a
later pandemic in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The research shows
that what caused all three pandemics was the same Yersina pestis (Y
pestis) bacterium. However, the strains of the first pandemic are
sufficiently different from those of the later pandemics to prompt a
warning from scientists, who believe that the same bacteria with
different DNA lineages is a worrying sign.
"These results show
that rodent species worldwide represent important reservoirs for the
repeated emergence of diverse lineages of Y pestis into human
populations," the study concludes.
Hendrik Poinar, director of
the Ancient DNA Centre at McMaster University in Canada, who led the new
research, believes scientists have to keep an eye on plague in rodent
populations -- the disease's major carriers -- to be able to avert
future human outbreaks.
While modern-day antibiotics are able
to stop currently known strains of plague, the researcher has not ruled
out the possibility for potentially dangerous mutations. If there ever
emerges an airborne version, the plague of that type could kill people
within 24 hours of being infected, Poinar warned.
"If we happen
to see a massive die-off of rodents somewhere with [the plague], then it
would become alarming," the scientist told AP.
The warning was
echoed by Tom Gilbert, a professor at the Natural History Museum of
Denmark, who wrote an accompanying commentary for the study.
"What
this shows is that the plague jumped into humans on several different
occasions and has gone on a rampage," he said. "That shows the jump is
not that difficult to make and wasn't a wild fluke."
Plague, one
of the world's oldest known diseases, still remains endemic in mostly
tropical and subtropical areas, according to the World Health
Organization. A disease of rodents, it's spread among them by fleas.
Around 2,000 people a year get affected globally.
When rapidly
diagnosed and promptly treated, plague may be successfully treated,
reducing mortality rate from 60 to less than 15 percent, the WHO says.
It
sounds like something out of a bizarre science fiction comic book, but
scientists have weaponized the H5N1 bird flu virus, and are actually
considering releasing the research.
plague doctor scientist science
dna bacteria "bio weapon" "black death plague" lab "science lab" "28
days later" airborn
Making the virus highly contagious could result
in widespread infection. The H5N1 virus has been infecting birds and
other animals in recent years, though it has also infected around 500
people.
The reason that it has not become an epidemic is due to
the fact that affected humans are usually not very contagious.
Therefore, altering the virus to become highly contagious is quite
possibly the deadliest tweak which could be done.
It seems that these scientists are just asking for the new weaponized bird flu virus to infect the public.
Bioterrorism fears arise as scientists push to release weaponized bird flu research
Darrin
McBreen reports on how governments are weaponizing deadly viruses. What
are the risks of such viruses escaping from inadequately secured labs
and starting a global pandemic?
We've already seen flesh eating
bacteria pandemics caused by overuse of anti-biotics, as well as virus
mutations caused by vaccines. Could a new super-flu be on the horizon?
Illumaniti warns of possible bio-weapon attack
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