Struggling for control over the plagueThe Past and present of the Black Death

Everyone has heard about the plague, a deadly infectious disease. Pandemics of this frightful disease in the Middle Ages and in later times caused the deaths of millions of people. According to molecular-genetic studies, its causative agent is very young compared to other pathogenic bacteria: it originated from a pseudotuberculosis microbe no more than 20000 years ago. Human economic activity probably played a definite role in the formation of natural pestholes of plague and in its epidemic propagation. Studies of the specific properties of the malicious plague microbe and works targeted at creating a highly efficient, harmless, and safe vaccine of a new generation are discussed.