Yersinia pestis
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
| Yersinia pestis | ||||||||||||
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| Yersinia pestis (Lehmann & Neumann, 1896) van Loghem 1944 |
Yersinia pestis is a bacillus. It is a bacterium.[1] It has been identified as the infectious agent of bubonic plague. This infection can also cause variants of bubonic plague.[2]. These three forms of the plague have be responsible for a high death toll, in many epidemics throughout human history. They are also made accountable for the Great Plague and the Black Death. Because of the Black Death, about one third (one of three people) died. This was between 1347 and 1353.
The bacillus was discovered by the physician Alexandre Yersin during an epidemic of the plague in Hong Kong, in 1894.[3] Yersin worked for the Pasteur Institute at the time. Originally, the microoganism was named Pasteurella pestis. It was renamed in 1967.
Currently, three varieties of Y. pestis are known.
Historians are currently divided about the role of Y.pestis in the Black Death. Some historians said that the Black Death spread far too fast. Therefore Y.pestis could not have caused it. DNA from Y.pestis has been found in the teeth of some of the victims of the Black Death. [4][5] For this reason, Y.pestis must have been at least a factor in some (but not necessarily all) European plague epidemics.
[change] References
These references are probably not in Simple English
- ↑ Collins FM (1996). Pasteurella, Yersinia, and Francisella. In: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al, eds.), 4th ed., Univ of Texas Medical Branch. ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ↑ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., McGraw Hill, pp. 484-8. ISBN 0-8385852-9-9.
- ↑ Bockemühl J (1994). "[100 years after the discovery of the plague-causing agent--importance and veneration of Alexandre Yersin in Vietnam today]". Immun Infekt 22 (2): 72-5.
- ↑ Drancourt M, Aboudharam G, Signolidagger M, Dutourdagger O, Raoult D. (1998). "Detection of 400-year-old Yersinia pestis DNA in human dental pulp: An approach to the diagnosis of ancient septicemia". PNAS 95 (21): 12637–12640.
- ↑ Drancourt M; Raoult D. (2002). "Molecular insights into the history of plague.". Microbes Infect. 4: 105–9.
[change] Other websites
- Yersinia pestis. Virtual Museum of Bacteria.
- Genome information is available from the NIAID Enteropathogen Resource Integration Center (ERIC)
