(ORDO NEWS) — Some time ago, specialists received a message that another strain of pneumonic plague had been discovered. Fixed it directly during the outbreak that happened in Madagascar. The disease intensified at the end of winter 2013.
Clinical Infectious Diseases reported.
Then the scientists took quite a lot of samples, but it was only recently that they were fully analyzed. They confirmed that the Yersinia pestis strain is completely unafraid of streptomycin. This antibiotic was usually used to treat the plague.
The experts also added that the disease can be transmitted between people. Directly during the outbreak, 22 people were infected, 3 cases were fatal.
The cause of drug resistance, scientists say, is the presence of point mutations.
However, the new strain is still susceptible to several other categories of antibiotics besides streptomycin. 19 patients affected by the plague in 2013 were treated and eventually recovered. Most likely, the infection with a dangerous disease happened during the funeral they attended.
Plague strains that are not afraid of antimicrobial drugs have been encountered by specialists before. For example, in 2017, a teenager was infected with Yersinia pestis.
This type of plague was not afraid of any of the main antibiotics used for treatment. It is worth noting that this was the first time that experts were able to prove that the virus is easily transmitted between people.
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