H1N1 (Swine Flu), Avian Flu and even standard influenza have emerged as modern specters of epidemic, but if scientists are correct, humanity has one less worry on the infectious disease front.

The spread of the bubonic plague- also known as Black Death- was likely exacerbated by conditions in the 14th century, including famine, war and weather. Between 30% and 60% of Europe’s population at the time is believed to have succumbed to the disease as it made its way across the continent in the mid 1300′s.

In a study termed “elegant” by University of Michigan medical historian Dr. Howard Markel, scientists at McMaster University in Ontario indicate they believe they’ve solved at least one of the mysteries surrounding the causative agent behind the deadly outbreaks. Hendrik Poinar, a biological anthropologist at the university, says that 100 samples from exhumed bodies of plague victims have revealed the pandemic’s culprit- although other strains cannot necessarily be ruled out. Poinar says:

“The Black Death was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis — the one responsible for current plague outbreaks. This settles the controversy surrounding the causative agent. Although we cannot rule out, at this stage, that there was another co-circulating strain.”

Markel said the study’s results were impressive- but that further work is needed given the scope of the pandemic and the number of outbreaks through history. He indicated more research was needed to augment the findings:

“The follow-up is clearly to get more plague genomes, from other outbreaks, to compare them across both space and time.”

But while the original strain is long dead, researchers like Merkel say that modern equivalents will continue to plague humanity, adding that science will never “really conquer germs, we just wrestle them to a draw at best.”

Black Death Bacteria Likely Extinct, Scientists Find is a post from: The Inquisitr

40 members of AQLIM (al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest Al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East have died by the Black Death.

The plague, responsible for the deaths of an estimated 75 million people world wide during the 14th century, swept through the AQLIM training at a forest camp in Algeria, North Africa, and was only discovered when security forces found a body by a roadside.

According to The Sun, Al-Qaeda chiefs fear the plague may have been passed to other terror cells, and even Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. One security source quoted by the paper said “This is the deadliest weapon yet in the war against terror. Most of the terrorists do not have the basic medical supplies needed to treat the disease. It spreads quickly and kills within hours. This will be really worrying al-Qaeda.”

There is believed to be 1,000 terrorists attached to the camp where the outbreak took place, with many reported fleeing to other camps, potentially spreading the disease.

40 Al-Qaeda Terrorists Killed….by The Black Death is a post from: The Inquisitr