Yersinia pestis

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yersinia pestis
Scientific classification
Domain:
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Gamma Proteobacteria
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
Y. pestis
Binomial name
Yersinia pestis
(Lehmann & Neumann, 1896)
van Loghem 1944

Yersinia pestis is a bacillus. It is a bacterium.[1] It has been identified as the infectious agent of bubonic plague. This bacterium also causes other forms of plague- Septicemic plague and pneumonic plague.[2] These three forms of the plague have been responsible for a high death toll in many epidemics throughout human history. These diseases are believed to be the cause of the Black Death. Because of the Black Death, about one third (one of three) people in Europe died. This was between 1347 and 1353.

The bacillus was discovered by the physician Alexandre Yersin during an epidemic of the plague in Hong Kong, in 1894.[3] Yersin worked for the Pasteur Institute at the time. The name of the organism underwent several changes. It was "Bacterium pestis" until 1900, when it changed to "Bacillus pestis". In 1923, it was renamed as "Pasteurella pestis" after Pasteur. In 1970 it was reclassified as a different genus to Pasteurella and was renamed "Yersinia pestis" after Yersin.[4]

Currently, three varieties of Y. pestis are known.

Historians are currently divided about the role of Y. pestis in the Black Death. Some historians said that the Black Death spread far too fast. Therefore, Y. pestis could not have caused it. DNA from Y. pestis has been found in the teeth of some of the victims of the Black Death.[5][6] For this reason, Y. pestis must have been at least a factor in some (but not necessarily all) European plague epidemics.

References[change | change source]

These references are probably not in Simple English.

  1. Collins FM (1996). Pasteurella, Yersinia, and Francisella. In: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
  2. Sherris medical microbiology : an introduction to infectious diseases (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. 2004. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9. OCLC 52358530.
  3. Bockemühl J (1994). "[100 years after the discovery of the plague-causing agent--importance and veneration of Alexandre Yersin in Vietnam today]". Immun Infekt. 22 (2): 72–5. PMID 7959865.
  4. "The History of Plague Pt 2. The discoveries of the plague Bacillus and its Vector". Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. Drancourt, Michel; Aboudharam, Gérard; Signoli, Michel; Dutour, Olivier; Raoult, Didier (1998-10-13). "Detection of 400-year-old Yersinia pestis DNA in human dental pulp: An approach to the diagnosis of ancient septicemia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 95 (21): 12637–12640. doi:10.1073/pnas.95.21.12637. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 22883. PMID 9770538.
  6. Drancourt, Michel; Raoult, Didier (January 2002). "Molecular insights into the history of plague". Microbes and Infection. 4 (1): 105–109. doi:10.1016/S1286-4579(01)01515-5. PMID 11825781.

Other websites[change | change source]