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CJEM Mar 2021
Topics: Humans; Pandemics; Physicians; Plague
PubMed: 33709350
DOI: 10.1007/s43678-020-00002-w -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2022All pathogenic organisms are exposed to abiotic influences such as the microclimates and chemical constituents of their environments. Even those pathogens that exist... (Review)
Review
All pathogenic organisms are exposed to abiotic influences such as the microclimates and chemical constituents of their environments. Even those pathogens that exist primarily within their hosts or vectors can be influenced directly or indirectly. Yersinia pestis, the flea-borne bacterium causing plague, is influenced by climate and its survival in soil suggests a potentially strong influence of soil chemistry. We summarize a series of controlled studies conducted over four decades in Russia by Dr. Evgeny Rotshild and his colleagues that investigated correlations between trace metals in soils, plants, and insects, and the detection of plague in free-ranging small mammals. Trace metal concentrations in plots where plague was detected were up to 20-fold higher or lower compared to associated control plots, and these differences were >2-fold in 22 of 38 comparisons. The results were statistically supported in eight studies involving seven host species in three families and two orders of small mammals. Plague tended to be positively associated with manganese and cobalt, and the plague association was negative for copper, zinc, and molybdenum. In additional studies, these investigators detected similar connections between pasturellosis and concentrations of some chemical elements. A One Health narrative should recognize that the chemistry of soil and water may facilitate or impede epidemics in humans and epizootics in non-human animals.
Topics: Animals; Climate; Humans; Mammals; Plague; Siphonaptera; Soil; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 36011612
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19169979 -
Cirugia Y Cirujanos 2020
Topics: Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Fear; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; History, Ancient; History, Medieval; Humans; Influenza, Human; Pandemics; Plague; Pneumonia, Viral; Quarantine; SARS-CoV-2; Social Media; Symptom Assessment; Time Factors
PubMed: 32538983
DOI: 10.24875/CIRU.20000234 -
Biomolecules May 2021Plague-a deadly disease caused by the bacterium -is still an international public health concern. There are three main clinical forms: bubonic plague, septicemic plague,... (Review)
Review
Plague-a deadly disease caused by the bacterium -is still an international public health concern. There are three main clinical forms: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pulmonary plague. In all three forms, the symptoms appear suddenly and progress very rapidly. Early antibiotic therapy is essential for countering the disease. Several classes of antibiotics (e.g., tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, chloramphenicol, rifamycin, and β-lactams) are active in vitro against the majority of strains and have demonstrated efficacy in various animal models. However, some discrepancies have been reported. Hence, health authorities have approved and recommended several drugs for prophylactic or curative use. Only monotherapy is currently recommended; combination therapy has not shown any benefits in preclinical studies or case reports. Concerns about the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of have led to the development of new classes of antibiotics and other therapeutics (e.g., LpxC inhibitors, cationic peptides, antivirulence drugs, predatory bacteria, phages, immunotherapy, host-directed therapy, and nutritional immunity). It is difficult to know which of the currently available treatments or therapeutics in development will be most effective for a given form of plague. This is due to the lack of standardization in preclinical studies, conflicting data from case reports, and the small number of clinical trials performed to date.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Host Microbial Interactions; Humans; Immunotherapy; Plague; Vaccines; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 34065940
DOI: 10.3390/biom11050724 -
Portuguese Journal of Cardiac Thoracic... Apr 2022
Topics: Humans; Memory Disorders; Plague; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant
PubMed: 35471217
DOI: 10.48729/pjctvs.251 -
Revue Medicale Suisse Jan 2021
Topics: Caregivers; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Plague
PubMed: 33443841
DOI: No ID Found -
Biomolecules Nov 2020The Gram-negative bacterium causes plague, a fatal flea-borne anthropozoonosis, which can progress to aerosol-transmitted pneumonia. overcomes the innate immunity of... (Review)
Review
The Gram-negative bacterium causes plague, a fatal flea-borne anthropozoonosis, which can progress to aerosol-transmitted pneumonia. overcomes the innate immunity of its host thanks to many pathogenicity factors, including plasminogen activator, Pla. This factor is a broad-spectrum outer membrane protease also acting as adhesin and invasin. uses Pla adhesion and proteolytic capacity to manipulate the fibrinolytic cascade and immune system to produce bacteremia necessary for pathogen transmission via fleabite or aerosols. Because of microevolution, invasiveness has increased significantly after a single amino-acid substitution (I259T) in Pla of one of the oldest phylogenetic groups. This mutation caused a better ability to activate plasminogen. In paradox with its fibrinolytic activity, Pla cleaves and inactivates the tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), a key inhibitor of the coagulation cascade. This function in the plague remains enigmatic. Pla (or ) had been used as a specific marker of , but its solitary detection is no longer valid as this gene is present in other species of . Though recovering hosts generate anti-Pla antibodies, Pla is not a good subunit vaccine. However, its deletion increases the safety of attenuated strains, providing a means to generate a safe live plague vaccine.
Topics: Animals; Antigens, Bacterial; Humans; Plague; Plague Vaccine; Plasminogen Activators; Point Mutation; Protein Interaction Maps; Protein Structure, Secondary; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 33202679
DOI: 10.3390/biom10111554 -
Nature Reviews. Microbiology Sep 2022
Topics: Humans; Plague
PubMed: 35778565
DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00769-y -
Scientific Reports Jul 2023The incidence of plague has rebounded in the Americas, Asia, and Africa alongside rapid globalization and climate change. Previous studies have shown local climate to...
The incidence of plague has rebounded in the Americas, Asia, and Africa alongside rapid globalization and climate change. Previous studies have shown local climate to have significant nonlinear effects on plague dynamics among rodent communities. We analyzed an 18-year database of plague, spanning 1998 to 2015, in the foci of Mongolia and China to trace the associations between marmot plague and climate factors. Our results suggested a density-dependent effect of precipitation and a geographic location-dependent effect of temperature on marmot plague. That is, a significantly positive relationship was evident between risk of plague and precipitation only when the marmot density exceeded a certain threshold. The geographical heterogeneity of the temperature effect and the contrasting slopes of influence for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and other regions in the study (nQTP) were primarily related to diversity of climate and landscape types.
Topics: Animals; Plague; Marmota; Mongolia; China; Tibet; Rodentia
PubMed: 37488160
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38966-1 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Nov 2019Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is transmitted through the bites of infected rodent fleas. Plague is well known for causing 3... (Review)
Review
Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is transmitted through the bites of infected rodent fleas. Plague is well known for causing 3 major human pandemics that have killed millions of people since 541 A.D. The aim of this Review is to provide an overview of the epidemiology and ecology of plague in Zimbabwe with special emphasis on its introduction, its potential reservoirs and vectors, and possible causes of its persistence and cyclic outbreaks. To achieve this, we carried out a search and document reported plague outbreaks in Zimbabwe. In the country, human plague cases have been reported in Hwange, Nkayi, and Lupane since 1974. The highest number of cases occurred in 1994 in the Nkayi district of Matabeleland North Province with a total of 329 confirmed human cases and 28 deaths. Plague is encountered in 2 different foci in the country, sylvatic and rural. Risk factors for contracting plague in the country include man-to-rodent contact, cultivation, hunting, cattle herding, handling of infected materials, camping in forests, and anthropic invasion of new areas. Plague is now enzootic in Zimbabwe, and the most recent case was reported in 2012, hence its effective control requires up-to-date information on the epidemiology and ecology of the disease. This can be achieved through continuous monitoring and awareness programs in plague-prone areas.
Topics: Africa, Southern; Animals; Cattle; Databases, Factual; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Reservoirs; Disease Susceptibility; Ecology; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Plague; Risk Factors; Rodent Diseases; Rodentia; Soil Microbiology; Yersinia pestis; Zimbabwe
PubMed: 31751348
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007761