Lessons Learned from Historic Plague Epidemics: The Relevance of an Ancient Disease in Modern Times

Boire, Nicholas

doi:10.4172/2329-8731.1000114

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 125 publications

(181 reference statements)

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“…They are important drivers of human genetic diversity and natural selection (Pittman, Glover, Wang, & Kol, ). It is also clear that the long‐term tracing of genetic adaptations and rates of evolutionary change are highly informative in understanding how a pathogen becomes virulent or transmissible, providing insights into how we can effectively manage future epidemics (Andam, Worby, Chang, & Campana, ; Boire et al., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And, thus far, only two epidemic diseases, namely smallpox ( Variola major ) and rinderpest ( Morbillivirus ), have been eradicated by vaccines. Many others, including polio ( Picornaviridae ) and influenza ( Orthomyxoviridae ) have not yet been eliminated (Boire, Riedel, Parish, & Riedel, ; Klepac, Funk, Hollingsworth, Metcalf, & Hampson, ). In 2016, the WHO documented >120 novel re‐emerging disease outbreaks (http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/year/2016/en/) including two novel (Sudanese haemorrhagic fever and American and Polynesian Guillain–Barré syndrome) epidemic pathogens (Table ).…”

Section: Prehistoric Human Interaction and Viral Oncogenesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution

Rifkin

Potgieter

Ramond

et al. 2017

Evolutionary Applications

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The recent discovery that malignant neoplastic lesions date back nearly 2 million years ago not only highlights the antiquity of cancer in the human lineage, but also provides remarkable insight into ancestral hominin disease pathology. Using these Early Pleistocene examples as a point of departure, we emphasize the prominent role of viral and bacterial pathogens in oncogenesis and evaluate the impact of pathogens on human evolutionary processes in Africa. In the Shakespearean vernacular “what's past is prologue,” we highlight the significance of novel information derived from ancient pathogenic DNA. In particular, and given the temporal depth of human occupation in sub‐Saharan Africa, it is emphasized that the region is ideally positioned to play a strategic role in the discovery of ancient pathogenic drivers of not only human mortality, but also human evolution. Ancient African pathogen genome data can provide novel revelations concerning human‐pathogen coevolutionary processes, and such knowledge is essential for forecasting the ways in which emerging zoonotic and increasingly transmissible diseases might influence human demography and longevity in the future.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prehistoric Human Interaction and Viral Oncogenesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution

Rifkin

Potgieter

Ramond

et al. 2017

Evolutionary Applications

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“…One of the deadliest natural disasters in human history was reported as the Black Death -attributed to the bacterium Yersinia pestis -killing about 50 to 200 million people in the 14th century [1]. Although plague was naturally widespread in ancient times, plague outbreaks occurred following the deliberate 5 use and propagation of this disease, serving as a bioweapon [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although plague was naturally widespread in ancient times, plague outbreaks occurred following the deliberate 5 use and propagation of this disease, serving as a bioweapon [2]. Nowadays, plague epidemics continue to pose a threat to humans, reporting continuous annual occurrence in five countries: Madagascar, Tanzania, Vietnam, China, and the USA [1,3]. This lethal bacterium can derive in several forms of plague maintaining its existence in a cycle involving rodents and their fleas [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 2017 plague outbreak in Madagascar: data descriptions and epidemic modelling

Nguyen

Parra‐Rojas

Hernandez‐Vargas

2018

Preprint

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From August to November 2017, Madagascar has endured an outbreak of plague.A total of 2119 cases of plague has been confirmed, causing until now a death toll of 195. Public health interventions have been introduced, preventing new cases and deaths. However, it is likely that the outbreak could reappear as plague is endemic in the region and typically only last until April annually. We collected real-time data from various official reports. We described the outbreak's characteristics and reported estimates of the key transmission parameters using statistical and mathematical modelling approaches. Plague's epidemic curve depicts a propagated outbreak with multiple peaks, caused by continuing exposure. Optimal climate conditions for rat flea to flourish were observed during the epidemic. Estimate of the Plague's reproduction number based on pneumonic data was 6.9. The main mode of transmission is human-to-human with a much higher transmission rate than that of flea-to-human mode. With a potential of continuing exposure to infected rat fleas until April 2018, current public health efforts should be maintained at the high level. While efforts in controlling vector to prevent the appearance of new index cases can be critical, maintaining interventions targeting reduce human-to-human transmission is key to prevent large-scale outbreaks.

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“…Plague affects all the age groups and genders but the most vulnerable group comprises of young people in the age bracket of 12-45 years [1,2]. Plague is endemic in Africa, Asia, South America, and North America with the majority of cases reported in Africa [3]. It is difficult to assess the global burden of Plague as mortality rate remains a poor reflection of disease state and endemicity due to lack of proper diagnosis and underreporting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shikimate Kinase of Yersinia pestis: A Sequence, Structural and Functional Analysis

Arora¹,

Narasu²

2016

Int J Biomed Data Min

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Yersinia pestis, the causative organism of Plague, is widely recognized as a potential bioterrorism threat. Due to the absence of homologs in human, Shikimate Kinase (SK) is considered as an excellent drug target in several bacterial and protozoan parasites. Ample literature evidences confirm the suitability of this protein as a good target. Therefore, Shikimate Kinase of Shikimate pathway in Yersinia pestis represents an attractive drug target. In the present study, a clustering approach was undertaken to select the proper representative for Shikimate Kinase sequences belonging to Yersinia pestis for structure determination. Three-dimensional models of the enzyme for KFB61218.1 (SK1), EFA47400.1 (SK2) and WP_016255950.1 (SK3) were generated using a comparative molecular modeling approach where structures were developed using the single specific template as well as multiple closely associated templates. The structures of Shikimate Kinase developed using comparative modeling were evaluated for stereochemical quality using various structural validation tools. Results from structural assessment tools indicated the reasonably good quality of models.

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Lessons Learned from Historic Plague Epidemics: The Relevance of an Ancient Disease in Modern Times

Abstract: Plague has been without doubt one of the most important and devastating epidemic diseases of mankind. During

Cited by 12 publications

References 125 publications

Ancient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution

Ancient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution

The 2017 plague outbreak in Madagascar: data descriptions and epidemic modelling

Shikimate Kinase of Yersinia pestis: A Sequence, Structural and Functional Analysis

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