Black Death vaccine being developed over fears plague could reemerge

Image shows a person receiving a vaccine jab in their arm from a health care professional wearing blue plastic gloves, while inset image shows a historic image of the Black Death in the 14th Century — The Black Death killed as many as 50 million people during the 14th Century (Picture: Getty)

Scientists who developed the AstraZeneca COVID jab are working on a new vaccine to combat the Black Death amid rising fears the plague could re-emerge.

The plague first hit British shores in 1348 after being spread to Europe by fleas on rats aboard ships from Asia.

Scientists estimate that between a third and a half of Britain’s population were killed by the Black Death in the following year.

During follow-up cases in centuries gone by, more than 200 million lost their lives after contracting one of the deadliest diseases in history.

And scientists fear the plague, which still exists in some parts of the earth, has ‘potential for pandemic spread’ in the near future.

Scientists at Porton Down’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory wrote last year that antimicrobial resistance is creating superbug strains that can’t be countered by standard antibiotics.

Now, the team behind the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine have announced they are making progress on a new injection which could stop the plague developing.

UNDATED PHOTO: A bubonic plague smear, prepared from a lymph removed from an adenopathic lymph node, or bubo, of a plague patient, demonstrates the presence of the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes the plague in this undated photo. The FBI has confirmed that about 30 vials that may contain bacteria that could cause bubonic or pneumonic plague have gone missing, then found, from the Health Sciences Center at Texas Tech University January 15, 2003 in Lubbock, Texas. The plague, considered a likely bioterror agent since it's easy to make, is easily treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed early and properly. (Photo by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Getty Images) — A bubonic plague smear, prepared from a lymph removed from an adenopathic lymph node (Picture: Getty)

The new vaccine was trialled on 40 healthy adults and has proven to be safe and able to produce an immune response to the often-deadly disease.

Director of the vaccine-developing group, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, said: ‘There are no licensed plague vaccines in the UK.

‘Antibiotics are the only treatment. There are some licensed vaccines in Russia.

‘The risk in the UK is currently very low. Previous historical pandemics that had high mortality were associated with initiation from fleas on rodents but were driven to person spread.’