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Pneumonic plague: stopping airborne Yersinia pestis

Fast-acting therapy and field-usable diagnosis for the lung form of plague, where untreated death comes within days.

In everyday words

Pneumonic plague is the lung form of plague — the fastest and most dangerous kind, and it can kill within days of the first cough. We need a test that works anywhere, not just in a big hospital, and treatments that act quickly, including ones based on traditional antimicrobial remedies.

Open questions

  • Which first-line antibiotic regimens hold against reported resistant isolates?
  • Can a field diagnostic confirm infection inside the survivable window?
  • Do any traditional antimicrobial plant extracts show real activity against Y. pestis?

Current leads

  • Resistance surveillance gaps

    Repurposed drug

    Collecting isolate susceptibility reports from endemic regions.

    Plainly: We are mapping the places where plague germs no longer respond to standard drugs, so doctors pick a treatment that actually works the first time.

  • Antimicrobial peptides from insect sources

    Natural source

    Early literature only — needs structured evidence extraction.

    Plainly: Insects fight germs with tiny proteins of their own. Early research papers suggest these could work against plague bacteria — the evidence just needs to be gathered properly.

  • Breath-sample rapid antigen concepts

    Man-made

    Design proposals open for engineering critique.

    Plainly: A breath test that answers yes-or-no in minutes — something a village clinic could use during an outbreak, not just a hospital lab.

Safety note

Plague is a medical emergency. Suspected cases need immediate clinical care and reporting to public health authorities — this hub is research infrastructure only.