Climate change increases plague

Yersinia pestis bacteria (Photo: zkea.com)

Climate change may lead to the emergence of more and more human plague outbreaks, a new study finds.

The group of international researchers, who focus on research in Kazakhstan, have discovered that when the warm spring and summer are wetter, the bacteria that cause these deadly diseases become more contagious.

Yersinia pestis is thought to have caused plague to kill more than 20 million people in the Middle Ages. According to the researchers, this disease is common in rodents.

According to Norwegian scientists, the Central Asian desert region is known to be a natural plague because it is the original breeding ground for the big gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus) - the initial parasite of the plague. The disease spreads rapidly through this parasite and the common flea in gerbils.

Rhombomys opimus - Rhombomys opimus (Photo: blueyonder)

Fleas multiply rapidly when temperatures exceed 10 degrees Celsius, and warm spring is the ideal season for this parasite to grow. Bubonic plague is spread from person to person through bite marks.

The advantage of climate has led to an increase in the number of these insects, resulting in a greater risk of spreading plague. Research shows that a temperature increase of just 1 degree Celsius in the spring is enough to lead to a 59% increase in the disease.

According to statistics, each year more than 3,000 cases of plague infections are reported in Asia, areas of Africa, the US and South America.

The team hopes this finding will help national authorities take measures to limit the risk of future outbreaks. The discovery also helped elucidate the outbreak of the world's two largest plague: 14th-century plague (medieval times) and the plague in Asia in the 19th century that killed tens of millions of people. . The analysis showed that the period of the weather was wetter and warmer.

People with lymphadenopathy caused by Yersinia pestis (Photo: bepast.org)

T.VY