Lung microbiome: new insights into the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases

Early Pandemics: The Plague

It's 1645, and the plague that is ravaging Europe has arrived in Scotland. George Rae, a plague doctor, is standing Leith outside one of the isolation huts. He dreads the thought of what is waiting for him inside; more victims dying an incurable, horrible death – with little he can do to help.

As he watches the dead bodies being removed from the neighbouring huts, he takes a deep breath, comforted by the sweet smell of herbs from inside his beaked mask. For he believes it is bad air, called 'miasma', that has caused the plague to ravage the port of Leith once again.

But, although he didn't know it, George's true protection was his leather cloak, which was stopping the fleas carrying the plague virus from biting and infecting him, as they had done with so many others.

The plague first emerged in Central Asia in the 1300s and spread like wildfire, before reaching Europe in 1347. Over the course of two and a half centuries, the plague is estimated to have wiped out half of Europe's population and killed tens of millions of people across the globe.

Those infected initially developed a fever, aching and vomiting, before painful buboes would appear and, for around half, death would swiftly follow mere days later.

Scotland was no stranger to the plague, suffering multiple waves and thousands of deaths from the start of the Black Death until the mid-17th century.

The port of Leith was particularly vulnerable, as ships from plague infected areas overseas harboured rats that infected Leith's unfortunate locals. The outbreak in 1645 proved the most devastating, leading to the demise of over half of the town's population.

In the 1600s, understanding of what caused and spread the plague was limited. Some saw it as God's punishment on a sinful population and thought the best way to fight the disease was through prayer. Others blamed miasma – inhaling 'poisonous' or 'bad' air from rotting food and waste that lined the streets.

To prevent the plague spreading in Scotland though miasma, 'foul clengers' were hired to dispose of the dead and cleanse the air.

But you'll be familiar with the most effective method – public gatherings were banned and plague victims were forced to isolate for forty days. In Italy, this was called 'quaranta giorni' or quarantine, meaning forty days.

Measures like forced isolation and wearing protective clothing did actually help to prevent the plague from spreading even if not for the reasons they thought at the time.

Through the late 19th century, medical discoveries led people to realise that bacteria, and not bad air, was the cause of the disease, and the theory of miasma was replaced with Germ Theory.

The plague's origins were only discovered by researchers in 2022. Using DNA technology, they uncovered the plague's origins – uncovering skeletons buried in modern-day Kyrgyzstan that had been infected by the bacteria that caused and spread the plague.

See, the plague was actually caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, spread by infected fleas and transported worldwide by rats.

And the plague itself? Well, it never actually went away. The last outbreak here in the UK was in 1980, and in China as recently as 2020.

Gary Webster Joins New British Horror Movie 'Doctor Plague' With Martin Kemp

Popular British actor Gary Webster, best known for his role as Ray Daley in the iconic television series Minder has joined the cast of Shogun Films' serial killer movie Doctor Plague, which already includes Martin Kemp (The Krays), Peter Woodward (Babylon 5), Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott (Helloween), David Yip (A View To A Kill) and Wendy Glenn (You're Next). 

As well as his turn in Minder, in which he starred as Arthur Daley's second bodyguard and nephew Ray, Gary is well known to British audiences from his years in the cult soap Family Affairs and a memorable stint in Eastenders. He also appeared in Boon, Taggart, Hollyoaks, Urban Gothic, Crossroads and Casualty. He made his big screen debut in cult classic Empire State in 1987. Gary is also a distinguished theatre actor and last year toured the UK in an acclaimed adaptation of Twelve Angry Men opposite Dallas star Patrick Duffy.

Doctor Plague follows grizzled London detective John Verney (Kemp) who is on the trail of a serial killer dressed as a Plague Doctor, cutting a swathe through the London underworld. Under pressure from his superiors to chalk the murders up to a gang war and fighting to maintain his home life, Verney is drawn into a terrifying conspiracy involving a murderous ancient cult once headed by Jack The Ripper himself.

Gary plays Eddie Crawford, an old school Fleet Street Newspaper editor, convinced there is a cover up of the Plague murders and determined to get to the bottom of it and break the story of the Century.

"I've wanted to work with Gary for many years," says Shogun Films founder and casting director Jonathan Sothcott, "and he was the first person we thought of for this role. He's a terrific actor and slots in perfectly to the heavyweight ensemble cast we've assembled. I grew up watching Minder, I think everyone did, and he's always been a favourite – and one of our aims at Shogun Films is to work with as many great British actors as we can. Hopefully this will be the first of many together."

Related: First look at the popster for serial killer film 'Doctor Plague'

Gary Webster said: "I have been a longtime admirer of Jonathan's work and his determined ability to actually get projects from script to screen successfully both commercially and artistically. So I was thrilled to be asked to be in his latest offering Doctor Plague especially as it involved acting opposite Jeanine whose powerhouse performances go from strength to strength. If you had said to me back in the 80's I would be working in a film with Martin Kemp I would have thought I was dreaming so I am very much hoping that this will be the first of many collaborations with Jonathan and his great team."

Doctor Plague was filmed on location in London and East Sussex and at Guildford Studios in Surrey. Executive Producers include Michael Bradley and Paul O'Brien, Nigel Smith, Keith Reilly, Jamie McLeod-Ross and Charley McDougall of Empire Studios. The film will be released by Trinity Creative Partnership later in 2025.

Shogun Films recently wrapped on the espionage thriller Knightfall starring Sir Roger Moore's son Geoffrey Moore and Saint legend Ian Ogilvy. On the 2025 slate are 'Predator meets Dog Soldiers' action/horror Werewolf Hunt, action crime thriller Killer Instinct and horror movies Harbinger, Midnight Kiss and The Secret of Guy Fawkes.

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