Yersinia pestis
Ancient Plague
and
Modern Menace
Christy Mackenzie
General Outline
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History and
Relevance
General Biology
Pathogenesis
Detection
Images on first slide:http://www.william-shakespeare.info/bubonic-black-plague-elizabethan-era.htm
www.insecta-inspecta.com/ fleas/bdeath/Doctor.html
This slide:http://www.provincia.torino.it/scuola/cesedi/modelli/epidemie/2.4testo1fig1.htm
History of Plague
• Three major historical
epidemics: 700-600
BCE, 14th-17th C, 1855present day
• Black Death: 1347-1351
• Recent Outbreaks
www.tomecek.com/ jay/ThePlague.html
Present-day Relevance
• World-wide spread
• Bioterrorism
• Re-emergence
- Madagascar
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/world98.htm
General Biology
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www.bibliopolis.org/ cromo/crom0011.htm
Hosts
Symptoms
Transmission Cycle
Diagnosis
Treatment
Hosts of Yersinia pestis
• Mammalian
http://www.channel4.com/history/
microsites/H/history/plaegu/plague.html
Science Picture Library
Human
Rodent
• Insect
Xenopsylla cheopis
www.exn.ca/Stories/ 2000/09/12/52.asp
Symptoms
idcs0100.lib.iup.edu/ WestCivI/the8.htm
www.imcworldwide.org/ cbr/L1C-m2.html
http://aci.mta.ca/Courses/Biology/Images/bacterial%20folder/Plague.html
• Bubonic
• Pneumonic
• Septicemic
www.niaid.nih.gov/dir/ labs/lhbp/hinnebusch.htm
Transmission Cycles
www.pon.nic.in/fil-free/ vcrc/plague.html
Diagnosis
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/p4.htm
• “Diagnosis is based
primarily on clinical
suspicion” USAMRIID
• Staining
• Culture
www.einsamer-schuetze.com/natur/krankheit/pest/bedrohung.html
Treatment
• ANTIBIOTICS!
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/337/10/677
• Development of resistant strains
Pathogenesis

Evolution
 Plasmids
 Type III Secretion
 Virulence Factors
dr-gng.dp.ua/death/ black/death_0.htm
Evolution

Yersinia family
-pestis
-pseudotuberculosis
 Genomics
-Shared Characters
-Divergence
-- inactivation
http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/GenomeAtlas/showatlas.php?kingdom=Bacteria&segmentid=Ypestis_Mediaevails_Main&type=cruciformatlas
Plasmids
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pPCP1
 pPMT1
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http://tecfaetu.unige.ch/wiki/index.php/PrincipeTransgenese
pCD1
Type III Secretion
Cornelis, 2002.
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Injectisome
 Yops
Antiphagocytosis
Cornelis, 2002.
Virulence Factors
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/280/11/10388

Invasins

Tyrosine
Phosphatase
Temperature Dependency
http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/full/186/18/6298
Detection
 Rapid Detection Test
www.allwestselectsires.com/ ecf.asp
www.testsymptomsathome.com/ TEC01.asp
Detection
 APDS
Autonomous
Pathogen Detection
System
http://www.llnl.gov/str/October04/Langlois.html
Conclusion
http://www.witheridge-historical-archive.com/black-death.htm
References
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Bossi, P. A Tegnell, A Baka, F Van Loock, J Hendriks, A Werner, ,H Maidhof, G Gouvras. Bichat
Guidelines for the Clinical Management of Plague and Bioterrorism-Related Plague. Euro Surveill.
2004 Dec 01 9(12) (ePub).
CDC Strategic Working Group. Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and
Response. CDC:MMWR. April 21, 2000. 49:1-14.
CDC Plague Home page (and linked sites). Found at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm.
Reviewed Mar. 30, 2005.
Chamberlain, Neal R. Lecture on Plague. 8/3/2004. Found at
http://www.kcom.edu/faculty/chamberlain/Website/lectures/lecture/plague.htm
Chanteau, Suzanne, Lila Rahalison, Lalao Ralafiarisoa, Jeanine Foulon, Mahery Ratsitorahina, Lala
Ratsifasoamanana, Elisabeth Carniel and Farida Nato. Development and Testing of a Rapid
Diagnostic Test for Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague. 2003. The Lancet. 361(9353):211-216.
Cornelis, Guy R. Yersinia type III secretion: send in the effectors. The Journal of Cell Biology. August 5, 2002.
158(3):401-408
Cowan, Clarissa, Heather Jones, Yasemin Kaya, Robert Perry, and Susan Straley. Invasion of Epithelial Cells by
Yersinia pestis: Evidence for a Y. pestis-Specific Invasin. Infect Immun. Aug 2000. 68(8):4523-4530.
Gage, Kenneth L, and Michael Y Kosoy. Natural History of Plague: Perspectives from More than a Century of
Research. Annu. Rev. Entomo. 2005. 50: 505-528.
Galimand, Marc, Annie Guiyoule, Guy Gerbaud, Bruno Rasoamanana, M.D., Suzanne Chanteau, Ph.D.,
Elisabeth Carniel, M.D., Ph.D., and Patrice Courvalin, M.D. Multidrug Resistance in Yersinia pestis
Mediated by a Transferable Plasmid. NEJM. Sept 4, 1997. 337:677-681.
Girard, Jessica M, David M Wagner, Amy J Vogler, Christine Keys, Christopher J Allender, Lee C
Drickamer and Paul Keim. Differential plague-transmission dynamics determine Yersinia pestis
population genetic structure on local, regional and global scales. PNAS. June 1, 2004. Vol. 101, no
22:8408-8413.
References cont.
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Franz D, P Jahrling, A Friedlander, et al. Clinical Recognition and management of patients exposed to
biological warfare agents. JAMA 1997. 278:399-411.
McBride, MT, D Masquelier, BJ Hindson, AJ Makarewicz, S Brown, K Burris, Thomas Metz, RG Langlois, KW
Tsang, R Bryan, DA Anderson, KS Venkateswaran, FP Milanovich and BW Colston. Autonomous
Detection of Aerosolized Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis. Anal. Chem. 2003 75(20):5293,5299
McGovern, Thomas W and Arthur M Friedlander. Plague. The Textbooks of Military Medicine. Found at
www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/cwbw
Motin, VL, AM Georgescu, JP Fitch, PP Gu, DO Nelson, SL Mabery, JB Garnham, BA Sokhansanj, LL Ott, MA
Coleman, JM Elliott, LM Kegelmeyer, AJ Wyrobek, TR Slezak, RR Brubaker, and E Garcia.
Temporal Global Changes in Gene Expression during Temperature Transition in Yersinia pestis.
Journal of Bacteriology. Sep 2004. 186(18):6298-6305.
USAMRIID: Medical Management of Biological Casualties Handbook. Plague. Found at
http://www.vnh.org/BIOCASU/9.html