… where a scientist, Malcolm Casadaban, has died after exposure to a weak strain of the plague.
University of Chicago molecular genetics professor studying the origins of harmful bacteria died last weekend after contracting an infection linked to the plague, officials said today.
University hospital officials said there “does not appear to be a threat to the public” following the death of Malcolm J. Casadaban, 60, at the campus’ Bernard Mitchell Hospital on Sept. 13.
None of the people the researcher had contact with has reported illness and symptoms typically develop within 2 to 10 days, officials said.
The researcher was studying a weakened laboratory strain of Yersinia pestis that lacked the plague bacteria’s harmful components, officials said.
… University officials said the weakened strain of the bacteria is used as a vaccine to protect against the plague.
According to university officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved the weakened strain for laboratory studies. It does not require special safety precautions required for work with more virulent strains, according to the release.
Once the lab strain was identified Friday, officials contacted the Chicago Department of Public Health…
September 19th, 2009 at 10:18PM
I’ll bite.
The Plague.
The fuckin’ PLAGUE!
Let’s hope he didn’t store it in Pandora’s box.
September 19th, 2009 at 10:43PM
Sad, but odd . . . I’m not a plague expert, but I recall a pub conversation with a biologist who studied plague in prairie dog populations, and treated the prospect of possibly catching it with equanimity. Take antibiotics, and you’re fine.
September 20th, 2009 at 7:26AM
Not weakened enough, apparently.
September 21st, 2009 at 6:30AM
Now how did I miss that – I have "plague" as a search term on google news! When I was at Emory I was fascinated by the CDCs big box research area where they keep things like smallpox and plague.