Yersinia pestis infection takes three main forms: pneumonic, septicemic, and the notorious bubonic plagues.
Source: UK Daily Mail
A scientist died after becoming the first American researcher to contract the plague in 50 years, it has been revealed.
Malcolm Casadaban, 60, was working with a weakened form of the plague’s bacteria thought to be harmless to humans when he died in September 2009, a report said.
The University of Chicago genetics and cell biology professor’s work with the live bacteria was not even noted when he fell ill and he followed proper safety protocols.
Dr Casadaban was researching the chain of events that happens when a person is made sick by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, which are behind the plague.
The bubonic plague, which killed at least a third of the population of medieval Europe in the 14th century, still infects more than 2,000 people annually worldwide today.
