The Where's and Why's of Disease

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 As I approach developing questions about Yersinia pestis, I found a necessity to gather as much background information about the microbe as possible. This past week has consisted of numerous articles, journals, and videos that address various aspects of the bacteria. For the sake of organization, I would like to present some of the information I found on a scale of small to large; in relativity to observable material. 

1.   Microbiological and genetic composition: As you can see from the picture below it is rod-shaped. There are no visible extensions that make it motile. I found a great paper that further explains its virulence, specific plasmids, and structurally gram-negative cell well encoded by chromosomal genes (Butler M.D., 1). It is an anaerobic organism. I have reached out to a professor to help me better understand the role of phagocytes and antigens. Hopefully from there, I can develop questions pertaining to structural or chromosomal composition and their affects on transmission or spread. 


Photo derived from The Bubonic Plague (Wilcox, 1)


2. Manifestations: The disease that can manifest from the inoculation of the bacterium include Bubonic Plague, Septicemic Plague, and Pneumoic Plague (the rarest form). 

3. Location: I've included a slightly outdated map of locations where the bacteria is prevalent. (WHO, 1) I'm curious the environments that this microbe thrives in, what temperatures are ideal for spread, and what factors increase its population, i.e. which mammals are the largest carriers and have the most fleas. 


Photo derived from www.who.int

References

Butler M.D., Thomas. (2017). Yersinia Pestis. Antimicrobe.org. E-Sun Technologies, Inc. http://www.antimicrobe.org/b246.asp

Wilcox, Daniel. (n.d.). The Bubonic Plague. Tripod.com. http://vs8.tripod.com/bubonic.htm

World Health Organization. (2017, October 31). Plague. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague

Comments

  1. Josh JamesSeptember 22, 2020 at 10:27 AM

    does this mean you have chosen a research topic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kimberly MerrillSeptember 22, 2020 at 2:34 PM

      Yes. Unless anything presents itself that pulls me away this is what I will be researching this semester. I was very intrigued by the butterflies, but I felt this was more pertinent to Arizona. My research proposal should follow shortly.

      Delete

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