Vaccine Research to Protect the Public From Weaponized Plague Bacteria
Y. Pestis Y. pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague. Wikimedia Commons New research on the immune system's response to plague could improve efforts to vaccinate the public against the world's oldest form of biological warfare. Researchers have been working for several years to develop a vaccine for weaponized forms of plague, which is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. It can be cured with antibiotics, but a weaponized form would likely defy drugs. Vaccination efforts have therefore focused on building antibodies, but a recent Army study suggested antibodies alone might not be sufficient. Now, a team at the New York-based Trudeau Institute say the key might be a cellular messaging system that helps produce a stronger immune response. Cytokines, which are proteins used for intercellular communication, work together with antibodies, according to a new paper by Trudeau researcher Steve Smiley. He says researchers should further examine cytokines' role in antibody...