Plague bacteria kills University scientist

Plague bacteria kills University scientist

abclocal.go.com

September 19, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- There was word Saturday that the death of a University of Chicago scientist may be linked to a bacteria that causes the plague.

The researcher, who died Sunday, studied the genetics of harmful bacteria, including a weakened strain of yersinia pestis.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www-news.uchicago.edu
mgcb.uchicago.edu
www.infowars.com

Types of Plague Caused by Yersinia Pestis Bacteria (Could this be what takes advantage of a weakened immune system -like someone with h1n1- or could we be seeing what will follow the swine flu?)

An infection with this type of bacteria can cause one of three types of plague:

•Pneumonic plague (Pneumonic plague can be caused in two ways: primary, which results from the inhalation of aerosolised plague bacteria, or secondary, when septicemic plague spreads into lung tissue from the bloodstream. Pneumonic plague is not exclusively vector-borne like bubonic plague; instead it can be spread from person to person. There have been cases of pneumonic plague resulting from the dissection or handling of contaminated animal tissue. This is one type of the formerly known Black Plague. It could kill 90%–100% of a population if the victims coughed and passed on the bacteria.)
•Septicemic plague (when plague bacteria multiply in the blood. It can be a complication of pneumonic or bubonic plague or it can occur by itself. When it occurs alone, it is caused in the same ways as bubonic plague; however, buboes do not develop. Patients have fever, chills, prostration, abdominal pain, shock, and bleeding into skin and other organs. Septicemic plague does not spread from person to person.)
•Bubonic plague (is the most common form of plague. This occurs when an infected flea bites a person or when materials contaminated with Y. pestis enter through a break in a person's skin. Patients develop swollen, tender lymph glands (called buboes) and fever, headache, chills, and weakness. Bubonic plague does not spread from person to person.)

This university scientist was "studying" the genetics of this bacteria. Those are all pretty serious and very dangerous infections. I am sure there is a great, plausable reason why a scientist at an school like this would be studying some of the most dangerous bacteria known to man. Especially at a school that was apart of the Manhattan Project.

A little history about the University of Chicago (I can't believe they already removed him from the faculty list!):

University of Chicago Research Institutes: 50 years of scientific achievements
For 50 years, the University of Chicago’s Research Institutes–the Enrico Fermi Institute and the James Franck Institute–have fostered an interdisciplinary dialogue between scientists that has resulted in some of the most notable scientific achievements of the 20th century.

The EFI and JFI, founded in 1945 as the Institute for Nuclear Studies and the Institute for the Study of Metals, respectively, are two of the oldest academic centers for interdisciplinary research in the world. They were founded by then-Chancellor Robert Hutchins, who recognized the wealth of intellectual talent that had assembled at Chicago to work on the Manhattan Project and conceived of the institutes as a way to retain these world-class scientists at Chicago.

Just to add a little more excitement to this, the Univ. Chicago (along with two other schools) is apart of The Chicago Biomedical Consortium.

From their site, here are their goals:
The mission of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium is to stimulate collaboration among scientists at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago that will transform research at the frontiers of biomedicine.

Here is my theory on this:
Australian researcher Adrian Gibbs suggested the H1N1 virus accidentally evolved in eggs scientists used to grow viruses and drugmakers used to make vaccines (ref: here). His theory is that the "swine flu" which is a direct descendant of the Spanish AND Russian flu, "escaped" a laboratory and began the spread of infections. My thinking is that this scientist (and possibly the whole consortium) was working on a vaccine for plagues that aren't threatening anyone like the swine flu yet! I wonder if they were "working" on a vaccine for what may follow up after the swine flu. That would make them pretty rich to have a vaccine to sale to the government once these plagues were "mysteriously" re-introduced.

Also, could that h1n1 vaccine allow this plague to slip right into your body? Trojan horse comes to mind.



abclocal.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I am still adding more information so please excuse all of the edits..

[edit on 20-9-2009 by Roadblockx]

reply to post by Roadblockx


Dunno, I read this on another website earlier and considered posting it here... But there is so little information.

They haven't released his name or anything. Just that he died a number of days ago from some bacteria. (edit: Err umm... They don't know for sure what he died from... It's presumed that it was the bacteria.)

Anxiously awaiting more information. I'll be watching for more too.
S&F


[edit on 9·20·09 by DrMattMaddix]

Originally posted by DrMattMaddix
reply to post by Roadblockx

 

Dunno, I read this on another website earlier and considered posting it here... But there is so little information.

They haven't released his name or anything. Just that he died a number of days ago from some bacteria. (edit: Err umm... They don't know for sure what he died from... It's presumed that it was the bacteria.)

Anxiously awaiting more information. I'll be watching for more too.
S&F


[edit on 9·20·09 by DrMattMaddix]

Thanks mate! I was a little hesitant to post as well but once I started digging, I really got into it. There are some "stretches" made but once more information comes up, it may fill in the cracks. I appreciate the post and look forward to any information you find! This could get interesting.



Editted spelling/grammar

[edit on 20-9-2009 by Roadblockx]

Bubonic plague is still out there in the wild.

New Mexico boy dies of bubonic plague

N.M. county facing bubonic plague cases

CDC Plague Home Page

I would consider this research on the yersinia bacteria very negligent, if it was
not closely controlled by medical staff.

Mortality can be avoided with Tetracycline.

reply to post by Ferris.Bueller.II




Good call. I was starting to look into how wide-spread the different kinds of plague were. Still no where near as "popular" or wide-spread as the swine flu.

Originally posted by Udo Hohnekamp Lux.
I would consider this research on the yersinia bacteria very negligent, if it was
not closely controlled by medical staff.

Mortality can be avoided with Tetracycline.

Great point! Unless what he was working on was either not approved by administration, not known by administration or not supposed to be taking place. Also, quite possible that he was infected with a quite more potent or severe case that NOTHING could touch. The kind that would be "slipped out" into the general public. Just saying there is probably more to it then he had been infected (which would lend points toward your post).

[edit on 20-9-2009 by Roadblockx]

reply to post by Roadblockx


Never said it was. But I remember back in the early 90's when I got stationed in southern New Mexico being briefed on the prevalence of plague carrying mice and other small mammals, especially in northern New Mexico. When I tell people about that, they're shocked that plague is still out there, and you can catch it. If caught early though, it is easily treatable with antibiotics.

Symptoms and Treatment
With pneumonic plague, the first signs of illness are fever, headache, weakness, and rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery sputum. The pneumonia progresses for 2 to 4 days and may cause respiratory failure and shock. Without early treatment, patients may die.

Early treatment of pneumonic plague is essential. To reduce the chance of death, antibiotics must be given within 24 hours of first symptoms. Streptomycin, gentamicin, the tetracyclines, and chloramphenicol are all effective against pneumonic plague.

Antibiotic treatment for 7 days will protect people who have had direct, close contact with infected patients. Wearing a close-fitting surgical mask also protects against infection.

A plague vaccine is not currently available for use in the United States. ref: here

Imagine them being the first to come up with this and then sell it once the plague (which ever flavor you want) was released. With a weakened immune system from the swine flu OR the h1n1 vaccine turned out to make you vulnerable to a new infection like the plague, wouldn't be a bad idea to have stock in this group.

reply to post by Ferris.Bueller.II


Sorry for any miscommunicatioin. I never implied you said it was as popular as the swine flu. That was my editorial.

You are dead-on with the plague info. A classmate lived in NM and he bragged about that state leading the nation in plague infections. Not so much bragged as was sarcastic. Scary to think that crap is out there, especially around AREA 51!

reply to post by Roadblockx


It's been in the wildlife population out there long before Area 51 was in existence.

Back in around 1350 one third of Europe´s population was killed by the
bubonic plague amounting to more than 25 million people.

At that time they did not know that the cause was a flea carried by rodents
like rats.

reply to post by Udo Hohnekamp Lux.


And they didn't have antibiotics to fight it until 1928.

this really isn't anything to worry too much about.

its pretty typical that every so often someone dies from bacteria that causes plague...

its still around...mostly in the rodent or animal population.
its treatable.
rabies scares me more than the plague.

the only thing that would/will worry me is if it becomes a big drawn out media show...

Let's hope the vaccine for H1N1 is not an immune suppressant or retardant. If those people who get the vaccine start catching all kinds of other diseases then watch out.

You would think as a scientist he would know the repercutions and know the symptoms as plague can be treated with antibiotics.

reply to post by DDay


Does this fall into the axiom "A physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient."?

[edit on 9/20/09 by Ferris.Bueller.II]

reply to post by cloakndagger


of course it is...
all vaccines are.
your bodies immune system will be stimulated and used to fight the vaccine which is what provides supposed immunity. you are more likely to get ill right after you get vaccinated and you are more likely to react more seriously to the vaccine if you are already ill (using your immune system) when you get a shot.

That is actually a pretty good point. Even if there isn't something inside the vaccine that is designed to make our body weak, the vaccine itself will cause our bodies to be weak from fighting the illness.