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• n  a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal

• The university said Saturday that its researcher studied the genetics of harmful bacteria including Yersinia pestis, which causes the illness.
• Many bacterial agents can be used as bioweapons, including Clostridium botulinum (botulism) and Yersinia pestis (plague).
• Its spread depends not just on Yersinia pestis but also on interactions among rodents and, crucially, on contact between humans and wildlife.

• plague
• pestilence
• pest

News & Articles

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• A quick test for the Black Death
  Diagnosing the presence of Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, may soon be easier than ever before. Scientists have come up with a simple, inexpensive and reliable method of detecting the bacterium. The research team, specialising in glycochemistry and glycobiology, first identified and synthesised an oligosaccharide structure on bacterial surface before combining it with a protein to heighten ...
  July 25, 2013 - Science Daily