New strains of the Black Death could emerge

Conclusion This study improves the understanding of the family tree of the plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis. It indicated the first plague pandemic was caused by a strain of Y. pestis distinct from the histories of all modern strains of the bacteria, and of the bacteria that caused two subsequent plague pandemics. This type of genetic evidence is persuasive so the conclusions are likely to be reliable. There are two main interpretations of the results. First, the bacteria that caused the Plague of Justinian came into existence then died out. Second, the bacteria strain that caused the Plague of Justinian remains in existence, but scientists just don’t know about it, so it didn’t show up in their comparisons. The first option is probably more likely but is debateable. The researchers mention that it is not clear why the Y. pestis lineage associated with the Plague of Justinian eventually died out. As the researchers suggest, the fact that the causes of the first and second pandemics were two independent strains passed from rodents to humans demonstrates how rodents can act as reservoirs for diverse strains of the plague bacteria. And theoretically, these new strains could be passed into human populations today. Because of its relative absence in developed nations, there is a false belief that plague has been eradicated, but this is not the case. Plague infections do still occur in humans today, predominately in African and Asian countries. Despite being potentially ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Medical practice Source Type: news