Mazzanti Carlotta, Zedda Nicoletta, Bramanti Barbara
Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Infez Med. 2024 Jun 1;32(2):254-263. doi: 10.53854/liim-3202-14. eCollection 2024.
Plague raged in Europe for over 1400 years and was responsible for three major pandemics. Today, plague still poses a serious threat to global public health and surveillance is imperative. Plague is still present in natural reservoirs on several continents, including Africa, Asia and the Americas, and sometimes causes local cases and epidemics. The Third Plague Pandemic caused millions of deaths worldwide, including in Europe. Plague arrived in Europe in the autumn of 1896 mostly through maritime trade routes, where it spread with several epidemic events until 1945, when, in the port city of Taranto, the last known outbreak was recorded. In this paper, we present an overview of the natural history and pathogenicity of , the bacterium responsible for plague, its spread from Asia to Europe during the Third Pandemic, and the therapies used to treat and prevent the disease in Europe, with particular focus on the case of Taranto. In Taranto, the Pasteur Institute's antiserum antimicrobial therapy, and vaccination were used to treat and stop the advance of the bacterium, with mixed results.
鼠疫在欧洲肆虐了1400多年，引发了三次重大的全球大流行。如今，鼠疫仍然对全球公共卫生构成严重威胁，监测工作势在必行。鼠疫在包括非洲、亚洲和美洲在内的几大洲的自然疫源地中依然存在，有时会引发局部病例和疫情。第三次鼠疫大流行在全球造成了数百万人死亡，欧洲也未能幸免。1896年秋，鼠疫主要通过海上贸易路线传入欧洲，在几次疫情事件中传播，直至1945年在港口城市塔兰托记录到最后一次已知的疫情爆发。在本文中，我们概述了鼠疫杆菌（引发鼠疫的细菌）的自然史和致病性、它在第三次大流行期间从亚洲传播到欧洲的情况，以及在欧洲用于治疗和预防该疾病的疗法，特别关注了塔兰托的案例。在塔兰托，巴斯德研究所的抗血清抗菌疗法和疫苗接种被用于治疗和阻止细菌的传播，结果好坏参半。
