Under the microscope, Yersinia pestis doesn't look particularly special. It's a fairly standard shape for a bacterium – a sort of short, round-ended rod – and relatively immobile.

A change to a single gene in the bacterium Yersinia pestis has enabled one of the world’s most notorious pathogens to survive for centuries.

The bubonic plague wiped out tens of millions of people in Europe in the 14th century — gaining the grim label the Black Death.In 2024, a handful of cases arise each year in the United States ...

Yersinia pestis continued infecting people in three separate pandemics over more than a thousand years. Read more at ...

However, modern-day bubonic plague can also become serious if not treated on time, and people need to see a doctor as soon as possible. Register now for one of the Evening Standard’s newsletters.

The plague — which in the mid-14th century was also known as the Black Death — devastated swaths of Europe, killing millions in under a decade. One of the puzzles surrounding this ancient ...

According to the World Health Organization, a total of 3,248 bubonic plague cases were reported worldwide between 2010 and 2015, resulting in 584 deaths.

After a case of bubonic plague was confirmed in Oregon earlier this week, some people may wonder if there’s a danger of the disease spreading in the US.

A confirmed case of human bubonic plague in Oregon raised fears over a resurgence of the infamous contagion that wiped out millions in the Middle Ages. But officials say there's no cause for alarm ...

A possible case is being investigated in Colorado. Bubonic plague is the most common form of the bacterial infection, which can be spread by fleas on rodents.

Under the microscope, Yersinia pestis doesn't look particularly special. ... The very mention of the words bubonic plague tends to provoke both fear and fascination even today.