Swiss-born Alexandre Yersin joined the Institut Pasteur in 1885 aged just 22 and worked under Émile Roux. He discovered the plague bacillus in Hong Kong. A brilliant scientist, he was also an explorer and pioneer in many fields.
Credit for discovering the bacterial cause of plague is accorded to the French physician Alexandre Yersin (1863–1943), for his bacteriological investigations in June 1894 in Hong Kong during a deadly epidemic [32].
How did Alexandre Yersin discover the plague?
Alexandre Yersin was born in French Switzerland and later took French nationality. While a medical student he worked in Paris with Emile Roux to discover the exotoxin produced by the diphtheria bacillus. . He isolated from buboes the causative bacillus that later was named Yersinia pestis in his honour.
What cured the Black Plague?
Unlike Europe’s disastrous bubonic plague epidemic, the plague is now curable in most cases. It can successfully be treated with antibiotics, and according to the CDC , treatment has lowered mortality rates to approximately 11 percent. The antibiotics work best if given within 24 hours of the first symptoms.
Who cured the Black Plague?
Some of the cures they tried included: Rubbing onions, herbs or a chopped up snake (if available) on the boils or cutting up a pigeon and rubbing it over an infected body. Drinking vinegar, eating crushed minerals, arsenic, mercury or even ten-year-old treacle!
What cured the Great Plague?
Money was dropped into jars of vinegar. People carried bottles of perfume and wore lucky charms. ‘Cures’ for the plague included the letters ‘abracadabra’ written in a triangle, a lucky hare’s foot, dried toad, leeches, and pressing a plucked chicken against the plague-sores until it died.
How did the Great Plague end?
Around September of 1666, the great outbreak ended. The Great Fire of London, which happened on 2-6 September 1666, may have helped end the outbreak by killing many of the rats and fleas who were spreading the plague.
What cured the plague?
Antibiotics such as streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline, or ciprofloxacin are used to treat plague. Oxygen, intravenous fluids, and respiratory support are usually also needed. People with pneumonic plague must be kept away from caregivers and other patients.
Who invented medicine for plague?
Alexandre Yersin isolated the bacterium (germ) that causes plague, developed a treatment (an antiserum) to combat the disease, and was the first to suggest that fleas and rats may have been spreading plague during the epidemic of 1894.
What killed the Great Plague?
Plague cases continued to occur sporadically at a modest rate until mid-1666. That September, the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the City of London, and some people believed that the fire put an end to the epidemic. It is now thought that the plague had largely subsided before the fire took place.
Who discovered medicine for plague?
Year Discovery References
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1980 Genetic relatedness of Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis 19
Did they ever find a cure for the plague?
Unlike Europe’s disastrous bubonic plague epidemic, the plague is now curable in most cases. It can successfully be treated with antibiotics, and according to the CDC , treatment has lowered mortality rates to approximately 11 percent. The antibiotics work best if given within 24 hours of the first symptoms.
How was the bubonic plague discovered?
The modern history of plague began in 1894, when Alexandre Yersin isolated the causative bacterium in culture and identified it under the microscope. This event allowed laboratory confirmation for accurate diagnoses.
How was the Black Death prevented?
Remove brush, rock piles, junk, cluttered firewood, and possible rodent food supplies, such as pet and wild animal food. Make your home and outbuildings rodent-proof. Wear gloves if you are handling or skinning potentially infected animals to prevent contact between your skin and the plague bacteria.
What cured the Black Death?
Some of the cures they tried included: Rubbing onions, herbs or a chopped up snake (if available) on the boils or cutting up a pigeon and rubbing it over an infected body. Drinking vinegar, eating crushed minerals, arsenic, mercury or even ten-year-old treacle!
What was the bubonic plague and how was it caught?
The plague is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. It’s usually spread by fleas. These bugs pick up the germs when they bite infected animals like rats, mice, or squirrels. Then they pass it to the next animal or person they bite.
How did they stop the plague?
How did it end? The most popular theory of how the plague ended is through the implementation of quarantines. The uninfected would typically remain in their homes and only leave when it was necessary, while those who could afford to do so would leave the more densely populated areas and live in greater isolation.
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