Trial volunteers have been given the first dose of a new plague vaccine, developed by the UK scientists behind the AstraZeneca Covid jab.
The phase-one trial involves at least 40 healthy 18 to 55 year-olds receiving the vaccine.
It uses the same technology as the coronavirus jab, but targets a centuries-old bacterial threat, the BBC reported.
The black plague is, for most, associated with the Black Death that swept through Europe in the 1300s and killed as much as half the population.
However, there are still cases in some rural areas of Africa, Asia and America, with an outbreak in 2017 having killed 171 people in Madagascar.
Antibiotics can now be used to treat plague, with an effective vaccine now offering a new way to protect lives.
The trial aims to test how well the body recognises and learns to fight the plague after vaccination.
