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Example of pediculosis, showing a body louse defecating on skin while feeding. (A) Photograph of a severe pediculosis affecting the back, arms, and neck found on a homeless person in Marseille. (B) Photograph of a Pediculus humanus corporis collected from a homeless person's skin in Marseille. In this photograph, we see a body louse defecating (body louse feces are indicated by a red arrow) while taking a blood meal (the biting point is indicated by a black arrow). The body louse feces are deposited approximately 3 mm from the biting point. This proximity greatly increases the chance of the penetration of feces inside the broken skin (biting point) during scratching. (Both photos courtesy of Philippe Brouqui, reproduced with permission.)

Example of pediculosis, showing a body louse defecating on skin while feeding. (A) Photograph of a severe pediculosis affecting the back, arms, and neck found on a homeless person in Marseille. (B) Photograph of a Pediculus humanus corporis collected from a homeless person's skin in Marseille. In this photograph, we see a body louse defecating (body louse feces are indicated by a red arrow) while taking a blood meal (the biting point is indicated by a black arrow). The body louse feces are deposited approximately 3 mm from the biting point. This proximity greatly increases the chance of the penetration of feces inside the broken skin (biting point) during scratching. (Both photos courtesy of Philippe Brouqui, reproduced with permission.)

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The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is responsible for deadly plague, a zoonotic disease established in stable foci in the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia. Its persistence in the environment relies on the subtle balance between Y. pestis -contaminated soils, burrowing and nonburrowing mammals exhibiting variable degrees of plague susceptibili...

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... including Y. pestis, are (i) that the pathogen ingested with blood remains viable in the digestive tract and the feces and (ii) that repeated louse bites provoke a local allergic response, inducing itching. The skin lesions that develop following self-scratching allow the penetration of pathogens present in the feces into the broken skin ( Fig. 5A) (199). Indeed, the louse often defecates while feeding on the skin, and the distance between the bite point and the infected feces that are deposited is 4 mm (Fig. 5B). As seen in Fig. 5A, it is clear that such skin lesions in heavily louse-infected patients make it possible for them to be infected by pathogens. In fact, similar to ...
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... a local allergic response, inducing itching. The skin lesions that develop following self-scratching allow the penetration of pathogens present in the feces into the broken skin ( Fig. 5A) (199). Indeed, the louse often defecates while feeding on the skin, and the distance between the bite point and the infected feces that are deposited is 4 mm (Fig. 5B). As seen in Fig. 5A, it is clear that such skin lesions in heavily louse-infected patients make it possible for them to be infected by pathogens. In fact, similar to all other lousetransmitted diseases, Y. pestis is introduced by autoinoculation by scratching the skin where the lice defecate. In contrast to the situation in fleas, ...
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... inducing itching. The skin lesions that develop following self-scratching allow the penetration of pathogens present in the feces into the broken skin ( Fig. 5A) (199). Indeed, the louse often defecates while feeding on the skin, and the distance between the bite point and the infected feces that are deposited is 4 mm (Fig. 5B). As seen in Fig. 5A, it is clear that such skin lesions in heavily louse-infected patients make it possible for them to be infected by pathogens. In fact, similar to all other lousetransmitted diseases, Y. pestis is introduced by autoinoculation by scratching the skin where the lice defecate. In contrast to the situation in fleas, mosquitoes, or ticks, ...
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... data better than the rat ectoparasite model and the pneumonic plague model at seven of the nine localities (186). Indeed, massive plague outbreaks (25 to 50% of the human population affected) can occur in the event of massive infestation of humans by body lice causing widespread pediculosis, increasing the chance of Y. pestis entry into the blood (Fig. ...

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... Plague is a deadly infectious disease common between humans and animals [27]. Breakout of worldwide plague foci in both developed and developing countries continues to take place and is associated with high mortality rates [3,28]. [29]. ...
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Background Yersinia pestis is a bacterium that causes the disease plague. It has caused the deaths of many people throughout history. The bacterium possesses several virulence factors (pPla, pFra, and PYV). PFra plasmid encodes fraction 1 (F1) capsular antigen. F1 protein protects the bacterium against host immune cells through phagocytosis process. This protein is specific for Y. pestis. Many diagnostic techniques are based on molecular and serological detection and quantification of F1 protein in different food and clinical samples. Aptamers are small nucleic acid sequences that can act as specific ligands for many targets.This study, aimed to isolate the high-affinity ssDNA aptamers against F1 protein. Methods and results In this study, SELEX was used as the main strategy in screening aptamers. Moreover, enzyme-linked aptamer sorbent assay (ELASA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) were used to determine the affinity and specificity of obtained aptamers to F1 protein. The analysis showed that among the obtained aptamers, the three aptamers of Yer 21, Yer 24, and Yer 25 were selected with a KD value of 1.344E − 7, 2.004E − 8, and 1.68E – 8 M, respectively. The limit of detection (LoD) was found to be 0.05, 0.076, and 0.033 μg/ml for Yer 21, Yer 24, and Yer 25, respectively. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the synthesized aptamers could serve as effective tools for detecting and analyzing the F1 protein, indicating their potential value in future diagnostic applications.
... Thanks to the effective health measures instituted, from 1899 to 1947, only 1692 cases of plague and 457 deaths were reported in Europe, and they were concentrated in particular in cities with sea or river ports [2]. In the rest of the world, the Third Pandemic has instead caused millions of deaths in just over 100 years, of which 10 million in India alone [3,16]. The last cases of plague in Europe occurred in Corsica and Italy in 1945 after the end of the Second World War, and in Russia at Kaliningrad in 1947 [2,16]. ...
... In the rest of the world, the Third Pandemic has instead caused millions of deaths in just over 100 years, of which 10 million in India alone [3,16]. The last cases of plague in Europe occurred in Corsica and Italy in 1945 after the end of the Second World War, and in Russia at Kaliningrad in 1947 [2,16]. ...
... The introduction on the pharmaceutical market in the 1940s of penicillin, the first antibiotic discovered by Ian Fleming in 1928, opened the so-called "antibiotic era". The discovery of streptomycin dates back to 1944 and of chloramphenicol to 1947, while sulfonamides have been employed against plague already in the 1930s [30,16]. During the last years of WWII, mass production of penicillin started in support of the Allied forces to save the lives of wounded soldiers in Europe. ...
... Ces facteurs ne sont pas des conse quences mais des de terminants qui facilitent la propagation de la maladie et sa re partition ine gale au niveau des re sultats (Jessica Dimca, Premie re publication:05 avril 2022). En effet l'histoire humaine est sporadiquement marque e par des e pide mies qui ont bouleverse certains ordre e tablis et changer beaucoup de paradigmes (Abdourdharam, 2021 ) (Congourdeau, La peste a Byzance, 1994 ) (Biraben, 1973 ) (Congourdeau, La Peste noire a Constantinople de 1348 a 1466, 1994 ) (Gallaghier, 2010 ). Les distinctions qui caracte risent les e pide mies passe es et aujourd'hui se trouve sur l'e volution des connaissances me dicales. ...
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... Human infection with Y. pestis usually occurs via direct contact with infected animals or through flea bites [2]. Three major plague pandemics in history have caused millions of human deaths [3]. The 2017 plague epidemic in Madagascar resulted in more than 2,400 plague cases and hundreds of deaths, indicating that the plague remains a major public health concern [4][5][6]. ...
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... At present, human plague infections continue to occur in rural areas in the western United States, but significantly more cases occur in parts of Africa and Asia (www.cdc.gov/plague/) [4]. In 2017, the island of Madagascar experienced its largest plague outbreak in two decades, causing 2,417 cases and 209 fatalities [5]. ...
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... The first pandemic caused by Y. pestis is known as the Justinian Plague, which spread from northern Europe to as far as England and Germany. It decimated the Mediterranean Basin and probably started in 541 and remained until 750/767 CE [7]. The next pandemic of Y. pestis is called the "Black Death" period, which started in 1346 and continued until the 18th century and led to the deaths of approximately one-third of Europe's population. ...
... The next pandemic of Y. pestis is called the "Black Death" period, which started in 1346 and continued until the 18th century and led to the deaths of approximately one-third of Europe's population. The third known pandemic probably began in 1772 in Yunnan's Chinese province, which expanded globally just before the beginning of the twentieth century due to human travel via railroad and steamship [7]. ...
Article
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a gram-negative bacterium that can be fatal if not treated properly. Three types of plague are currently known: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague, among which the fatality rate of septicemic and pneumonic plague is very high. Bubonic plague can be treated, but only if antibiotics are used at the initial stage of the infection. But unfortunately, Y. pestis has also shown resistance to certain antibiotics such as kanamycin, minocycline, tetracycline, streptomycin, sulfonamides, spectinomycin, and chloramphenicol. Despite tremendous progress in vaccine development against Y. pestis, there is no proper FDA-approved vaccine available to protect people from its infections. Therefore, effective broad-spectrum vaccine development against Y. pestis is indispensable. In this study, vaccinomics-assisted immunoinformatics techniques were used to find possible vaccine candidates by utilizing the core proteome prepared from 58 complete genomes of Y. pestis. Human non-homologous, pathogen-essential, virulent, and extracellular and membrane proteins are potential vaccine targets. Two antigenic proteins were prioritized for the prediction of lead epitopes by utilizing reverse vaccinology approaches. Four vaccine designs were formulated using the selected Band T-cell epitopes coupled with appropriate linkers and adjuvant sequences capable of inducing potent immune responses. The HLA allele population coverage of the T-cell epitopes selected for vaccine construction was also analyzed. The V2 constructs were top-ranked and selected for further analysis on the basis of immunological, physicochemical, and immune-receptor docking interactions and scores. Docking and molecular dynamic simulations confirmed the stability of construct V2 interactions with the host immune receptors. Immune simulation analysis anticipated the strong immune profile of the prioritized construct. In silico restriction cloning ensured the feasible cloning ability of the V2 construct in the expression system of E. coli strain K12. It is anticipated that the designed vaccine construct may be safe, effective, and able to elicit strong immune responses against Y. pestis infections and may, therefore, merit investigation using in vitro and in vivo assays.
... Plague caused by Yersinia pestis is a fulminant infectious disease, resulting in nearly 200 million deaths in human history [1,2]. Plague presents itself in various clinical forms, namely bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague. ...
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We recently identified two virulence-associated small open reading frames (sORF) of Yersinia pestis , named yp1 and yp2 , and null mutants of each individual genes were highly attenuated in virulence. Plague vaccine strain EV76 is known for strong reactogenicity, making it not suitable for use in humans. To improve the immune safety of EV76, three mutant strains of EV76, Δ yp1 , Δ yp2 , and Δ yp1&yp2 were constructed and their virulence attenuation, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in mice were evaluated. All mutant strains were attenuated by the subcutaneous ( s . c .) route and exhibited more rapid clearance in tissues than the parental strain EV76. Under iron overload conditions, only the mice infected with EV76Δ yp1 survived, accompanied by less draining lymph nodes damage than those infected by EV76. Analysis of cytokines secreted by splenocytes of immunized mice found that EV76Δ yp2 induced higher secretion of multiple cytokines including TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-12p70 than EV76. On day 42, EV76Δ yp2 or EV76Δ yp1&yp2 immunized mice exhibited similar protective efficacy as EV76 when exposed to Y . pestis 201, both via s . c . or intranasal ( i . n .) routes of administration. Moreover, when exposed to 200–400 LD 50 Y . pestis strain 201Δ caf1 (non-encapsulated Y . pestis ), EV76Δ yp2 or EV76Δ yp1&yp2 are able to afford about 50% protection to i . n . challenges, significantly better than the protection afforded by EV76. On 120 day, mice immunized with EV76Δ yp2 or EV76Δ yp1&yp2 cleared the i . n . challenge of Y . pestis 201- lux as quickly as those immunized with EV76, demonstrating 90–100% protection. Our results demonstrated that deletion of the yp2 gene is an effective strategy to attenuate virulence of Y . pestis EV76 while improving immunogenicity. Furthermore, EV76Δ yp2 is a promising candidate for conferring protection against the pneumonic and bubonic forms of plague.
... Yersinia pestis is a gram-negative bacterium that causes plague, a deadly infectious disease with a significant historical impact (Barbieri et al. 2020). Preserving Y. pestis strains in a viable and stable state is crucial for studying its biology, virulence factors, epidemiology, and the development of effective preventive and therapeutic measures (Bellali et al. 2020). ...
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Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly virulent bacterium that poses a significant threat to human health. Preserving this bacterium in a viable state is crucial for research and diagnostic purposes. This paper presents and evaluates a simple lyophilization protocol for the long-term storage of Y. pestis strains from Fiocruz-CYP, aiming to explore its impact on viability and long-term stability, while replacing the currently used methodologies. The lyophilization tests were conducted using the non-virulent Y. pestis strain EV76, subjected to the lyophilization process under vacuum conditions. Viability assessment was performed to evaluate the effects of lyophilization and storage conditions on Y. pestis under multiple temperature conditions (− 80 °C, − 20 °C, 4–8 °C and room temperature). The lyophilization protocol employed in this study consistently demonstrated its efficacy in maintaining high viability rates for Y. pestis samples in a up to one year follow-up. The storage temperature that consistently exhibited the highest recovery rates was − 80 °C, followed by − 20 °C and 4–8 °C. Microscopic analysis of the post-lyophilized cultures revealed preserved morphological features, consistent with viable bacteria. The high viability rates observed in the preserved samples indicate the successful preservation of Y. pestis using this protocol. Overall, the presented lyophilization protocol provides a valuable tool for the long-term storage of Y. pestis, offering stability, viability, and functionality. By refining the currently used methods of lyophilization, this protocol can improve long-term preservation for Y. pestis strains collections, facilitating research efforts, diagnostic procedures, and the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies against plague.
... Hilangnya penyakit ini tidak mungkin terjadi karena berbagai macam inang mamalia dan kutu yang menyertainya. Siklus hidup kutu/hewan pengerat Y. pestis, patogen obligat gram negatif, membuatnya terpapar pada kondisi lingkungan yang sangat berbeda dan menghasilkan beberapa sifat baru yang memfasilitasi penularan dan infeksi(Barbieri et al., 2020).Meskipun Y. pestis terdapat pada hewan, tetapi penyakit juga bisa menular ke manusia. Salah satu cara penularannya dengan gigitan kutu tikus atau kontak langsung dengan cairan tubuh hewan yang terinfeksi pes. ...
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Mouse and rat borne zoonotic diseases refer to illnesses that can be transmitted from rodents such as mice and rats to humans. These animals can carry various pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause diseases in humans through direct contact, inhalation of airborne particles, consumption of contaminated food or water, or via vectors such as ticks and fleas. Here are some common mouse and rat zoonotic diseases: Leptospirosis, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM), Rat-Bite Fever (RBF), Salmonellosis dan Pes. Leptospirosis: This bacterial infection is caused by Leptospira bacteria found in the urine of infected rodents. Humans can contract leptospirosis through contact with contaminated water, soil, or food. Symptoms can range from mild flu-like illness to severe complications involving the kidneys, liver, and other organs. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans through contact with rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, primarily from deer mice. Inhalation of aerosolized virus particles is the most common route of transmission. HPS can lead to severe respiratory illness, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches, coughing, and potentially fatal pulmonary edema. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM): LCM is caused by the Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV), which is carried by house mice. Humans can become infected through exposure to rodent urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials. LCM can cause flu-like symptoms initially and may progress to more severe neurological complications, including meningitis and encephalitis. Rat-Bite Fever (RBF): This bacterial infection is caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis (commonly associated with rat bites) or Spirillum minus (associated with exposure to rat feces or urine). RBF can result from a bite or scratch from an infected rodent or handling of contaminated materials. Symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, and in severe cases, endocarditis or meningitis. Salmonellosis: Salmonella bacteria can be carried by rodents, particularly in their feces. Humans can contract salmonellosis through the ingestion of contaminated food or water, as well as through direct contact with rodents or their habitats. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting. Pes: While commonly associated with fleas that infest rodents like rats, plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis) can also be transmitted directly through contact with infected rodents or their bodily fluids. Plague can manifest as bubonic (swollen lymph nodes), septicemic, or pneumonic forms, with symptoms ranging from fever and chills to respiratory distress and organ failure. Preventing mouse and rat zoonotic diseases involves maintaining good hygiene practices, such as proper food storage, waste disposal, and rodent-proofing buildings. Additionally, avoiding contact with wild rodents and seeking prompt medical attention if exposed to rodents or experiencing symptoms of illness are crucial preventive measures.
... If Yersinia pestis further invades the entire lymphatic system, it can lead to severe systemic infection [10]. In pneumonic plague, extensive necrosis and hemorrhage occur in the lung tissue, with the alveoli lled with a large amount of exudate and red blood cells [11]. The interstitial tissue and peribronchial tissue may also be affected, leading to varying degrees of in ammation and necrosis. ...
... The pathological basis of this change is diverse and may be pulmonary hemorrhage, pulmonary edema, or in ammatory exudation. 2) Pleural effusion: Pulmonary plague can cause pleural effusion [11]. 3) ...
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Background Plague is an acute infectious disease caused by the Yersinia pestis. Historically, it has been a major pandemic with high mortality rates, known as the "Black Death" in the 14th century, which resulted in millions of deaths in Europe. With increasing economic prosperity, more and more people are traveling to Xizang. However, this trend also hides significant safety hazards. Currently, there are few recent reports on plague, especially those with imaging manifestations available. In this study, we report the detailed clinical and radiographic data of two patients with pneumonic plague in Xizang, China, in 2023. Case presentation We report two cases of pulmonary plague in Xizang, with both patients were herdsmen living in an area where dead marmots were found. Both patients presented with symptoms such as fever, hemoptysis, dyspnea and coma. Chest computed tomography (CT) scans showed multiple nodules distributed in the central regions of lung lobes, consolidation distributed in secondary pulmonary lobules, and had a gravity-dependent distribution pattern. One patient developed pleural effusion. These imaging findings are consistent with pulmonary hemorrhage and diffuse alveolar damage. Despite emergency treatment, both patients died within 24 hours of admission. Through retrospective medical history investigation and autopsy, the final diagnosis was confirmed as pulmonary plague. Conclusion Pneumonic plague is the most deadly infectious disease, and its pathological features are mainly include damage to the alveoli, pulmonary hemorrhage, and pulmonary edema. Corresponding to CT, it manifests as acute and rapidly progressing pneumonia, alveolar damage, and pulmonary hemorrhage. The value of this article lies in the completeness and typicality of the imaging data, vivid hand-drawn illustrations of transmission pathways, and comprehensive literature review, all of which serve to enhance public understanding of plague and play an important warning role.