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| Science & Technology |
| Vaccine For Protection Against Black Plague Bioterror Attack |
| 2008-08-01 |
| A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today. UCF Professor Henry Daniell and his team have developed a vaccine that early research shows is highly effective against the plague. Findings of his National Institutes of Health and USDA funded research appear in the August edition of Infection and Immunity. The vaccine, which is taken orally or by injection, was given to rats at UCF and the efficacy was evaluated by measuring immunity (antibody) developed in their blood. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #3 They are probably talking about the Pneumonic plague, which I supposed could be put into an aerosol as a military agent. This is tricky, as the disease is anaerobic, so would need to be encapsulated in a stable carrier that would break down only in conditions similar to the lungs. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-08-01 23:09 |
| #2 oh puhleaze! CA sees a lot of plague in squirrels, and a few humans. We know what to do. Currently, in San Diego there was a news story yesterday of some dead squirrels with plague, and a couple wymyns that caught the West Nile. NM is not an island of high-tech |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-01 19:18 |
| #1 It's natural in the environment of New Mexico. There are several cases contracted a year. The medical establishment is attuned to recognize the symptoms for early treatment which generally is successful. Unfortunately, not so in neighboring states which wait too long and then hand off their patients to New Mexico for what is basically terminal care. New Mexico get stuck with the statistic not the state that delayed getting the patient to effective care. There's no general outbreak because following simple precautions avoids the problem. Wear long pants and sock when not in urban areas, avoid dead animal carcasses, thus avoiding the vectors/fleas. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-01 18:21 |