Event: "The Plague in Modern Society" lecture by MU professor Deb Anderson
When: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Monsanto Auditorium in the Bond Life Sciences Center
More info: The lecture is free. Coffee and bagels will be provided.

MU professor Deb Anderson will be speaking about the plague as part of MU's Saturday Morning Science series. We sat down with her to find out why the plague still matters today.

The Free Tiger: So, the plague still exists, but how similar is it to the plague that existed in the Middle Ages?
Anderson: It’s essentially the same bacteria, just not the same epidemic, and that is just due to modern public health and the fact that it can be treated with antibiotics. Also, it is still spread through the rodent population with fleas, as it was in the Middle Ages.

FT: Where do we see cases of the plague popping up most frequently?
Anderson: We have it in the U.S., but just in the arid and hot places, such as New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and even California has had recent cases. Nothing east of the Mississippi – it’s always been that way.

FT: How many people contract Yersinia pestis, or the bubonic plague, each year in the U.S.?
Anderson: Certainly less than ten people, but more than one, generally.

FT: Why did you decide to research the bubonic plague? And for how long have you been studying it?
Anderson: It’s a bacterium that causes a severe disease because it completely disables an immune system, and does it better than any other. Also, how it goes from being inside of a flea to causing a lethal infection in humans is very interesting. And I’ve been studying the plague for about five years.

FT: What will the people who attend your lecture learn about the plague?
Anderson: The lecture serves as more of a preparative thing. It’s almost a spin on why you should still be concerned and why we’re still worried about it.