Is bubonic plague back? Black Death vaccine developed amid fears of superbug in UK

Bird flu and Mpox were also featured in this list, among 21 others.

The bubonic plague still exists in some areas of the world and experts warn that it has the potential to spread as a superbug strain.

The plague was responsible for the infamous Black Death in the 14th century that killed nearly 25 million people in Europe alone.

But while it is often seen as a relic of the past, it continues to affect thousands of lives annually.

Outbreaks have occurred as recently as 2017, when Madagascar experienced a deadly epidemic that infected over 2,000 people, including cases of the highly contagious pneumonic plague.

The development is spearheaded by the researchers behind the Oxford/Astrazenca covid jab.

The team said that the trial of the vaccine which started in 2021 and was tested on 40 healthy adults has had positive results that show it is safe and creates the immune response needed to fight the plague.

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the trial’s results will be examined by global experts before tests continue this year.

The new vaccine employs cutting-edge mRNA technology- the same platform used for the highly successful COVID-19 vaccines. It works by instructing the body’s cells to produce harmless fragments of the Yersinia pestis bacterium- the pathogen responsible for the plague. This primes the immune system to recognise and neutralise the bacterium if exposed.

There is currently no vaccine for the plague in the UK meaning this development is a major milestone in the fight against one of history’s deadliest diseases.