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Health See other Health Articles Title: What's the upside of the plague? What's the upside of the plague? Literacy. Funny story. When you invent the printing press (Gutenberg, 15th Century), you're not going to really get anywhere with it unless you've got paper. Plenty of paper. But paper was scarce in Gutenberg's day because it was made from discarded linen and canvas. You couldn't just call up Dunder Mifflin and order a few reams. The 15th Century also happened to be one of those unfortunate centuries when the Black Death occasionally took its toll here and there throughout Europe. Of course, no one wants to wear the suit of a plague victim, so tons of clothes were discarded, and someone had the idea to use them for papermaking. The math is easy: moveable type printing presses + lots of papermaking material = an evolutionary leap of literacy. So…other than millions of deaths, what's the downside of the plague? Fear. Which happens to be a perfect tool for selling a vaccine. According to Ivanhoe Newswire, the bubonic plague vaccine is "medicine's next big thing." Ivanhoe reports that the plague claimed 200 million victims (a quarter of the world's population), then adds: "today, the threat of another outbreak is as real as ever." That's right – any day now the bubonic plague could break loose again and mow down millions. Except for the fact that, unlike doctors in the 1400s, we know how the plague spreads (fleas from rats, primarily), we have mass communications to warn of a pandemic, and we have antibiotics to deal with such a problem. So, yeah, except for those enormous differences, another outbreak is as real as ever. If by "ever" you mean "never." What do you suppose could get the folks at Ivanhoe all worked up over the impending threat of a return of the plague? Enter Henry Daniell, Ph.D. – a University of Central Florida (UCF) molecular biologist who has created a plague vaccine. Dr. Daniell took genes from the bacterium that causes bubonic plague and injected it into plant cells. Then he tested the juiced up plant cells in rats exposed to plague bacterium, and it worked beautifully, erasing all traces of the plague from their bodies. A UCF press release states: "Although human trials are still needed, Daniell is confident the vaccine will work." Yeah, I can just imagine the recruiting advertisement for that study: "Do you have the bubonic plague? Call the University of Central Florida IMMEDIATELY to participate in a clinical trial. Seriously – call us right NOW." Do you know anyone who's had bubonic plague? Neither do I. But Ivanhoe reports that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials consider bubonic plague a top bioterrorism threat. Ah! Now we're getting somewhere! If the only modern cases of the plague are fairly isolated instances where people live in close proximity to rats infested with plague-carrying fleas, it's going to be hard to sell a plague vaccine. But if you can overwhelm enough people with the fear that a bioterrorist attack with plague bacteria is a likely possibility, then you're on your way to big sales! And it just so happens that Dr. Daniell's research has prompted UCF to form a biotechnology company called Chlorogen. And Chlorogen has developed a partnership with Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, one of the most powerful multinational companies in the world. Now we really ARE getting somewhere! Honestly, I have no idea if Dow AgroSciences is involved with Dr. Daniell's plague vaccine. But if you wanted to convince the U.S. and other governments that they should use our tax dollars to purchase and stockpile millions of vaccines in preparation for bioterrorist attacks, it would be really nice to have a wealthy, well-connected, international conglomerate on your side, don't you think? Let's watch and see if this Ivanhoe item turns out to be the first of many news articles to ratchet up the fear and "raise awareness" of an impending bubonic plague attack. Sources: "Medicine's Next Big Thing: Plague Vaccine" Ivanhoe Newswire, 10/22/08, Ivanhoe.com "UCG Professor Develops Vaccine to Protect Against black Plague Bioterror Attack" Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Newsroom, 7/30/08, news.ucf.edu www.healthiertalk.com ">Click for Full Text!
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