Black Death Bacteria Strain Probably Extinct, McMaster University Reveals

Using bones retrieved from London's medieval graveyards, scientists have isolated the strain of bacteria thought to be responsible for the Black Death, and determined that it is most likely now extinct. The plague, caused by a strain of flea-borne bacteria called Yersinia pestis, ravaged Europe close to seven centuries ago. But the variant of the bacterium behind that scourge is different from the modern strain that still causes about 2,000 new cases of bubonic and pneumonic plague each year, researchers said. The new research also confirms Y. pestis as the culprit behind the medieval outbreak, the study authors said.