Persistence of<i>Yersinia pestis</i>in Soil Under Natural Conditions

Eisen, Rebecca J.; Petersen, Jeannine M.; Higgins, Charles L.; Wong, David; Levy, Craig; Mead, Paul S.; Schriefer, Martin E.; Griffith, Kevin S.; Gage, Kenneth L.; Beard, Charles B.

doi:10.3201/eid1406.080029

Cited by 97 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Some literature indicates that plague persistence in natural foci has a root cause in soils (Breneva et al, 2006;Eisen et al, 2008). This indication has been supported by the evidence that Y. pestis can survive in natural soil conditions from 24 days to 40 weeks (Ayyadurai et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Predicting small mammal and flea abundance using landform and soil properties in a plague endemic area in Lushoto District, Tanzania

Meliyo

Kimaro

Msanya

et al. 2014

Tanzania J Hlth Res

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Small mammals particularly rodents, are considered the primary natural hosts of plague. Literature suggests that plague persistence in natural foci has a root cause in soils. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between on the one hand landforms and associated soil properties, and on the other hand small mammals and fleas in West Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, a plague endemic area. Standard field survey methods coupled with Geographical Information System (GIS) technique were used to examine landform and soils characteristics. Soil samples were analysed in the laboratory for physico-chemical properties. Small mammals were trapped on pre-established landform positions and identified to genus/species level. Fleas were removed from the trapped small mammals and counted. Exploration of landform and soil data was done using ArcGIS Toolbox functions and descriptive statistical analysis. The relationships between landforms, soils, small mammals and fleas were established by generalised linear regression model (GLM) operated in R statistics software. Results show that landforms and soils influence the abundance of small mammals and fleas and their spatial distribution. The abundance of small mammals and fleas increased with increase in elevation. Small mammal species richness also increases with elevation. A landform-soil model shows that available phosphorus, slope aspect and elevation were statistically significant predictors explaining richness and abundance of small mammals. Fleas' abundance and spatial distribution were influenced by hill-shade, available phosphorus and base saturation. The study suggests that landforms and soils have a strong influence on the richness and evenness of small mammals and their fleas' abundance hence could be used to explain plague dynamics in the area. _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Predicting small mammal and flea abundance using landform and soil properties in a plague endemic area in Lushoto District, Tanzania

Meliyo

Kimaro

Msanya

et al. 2014

Tanzania J Hlth Res

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“…[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Plague bacteria also may survive outside living hosts on carcasses or in the soil, but only limited evidence exists to suggest that such mechanisms are important for long-term survival in nature. 9,16,17 Plague likely evolved in Asia, 9,18,19 and has since spread broadly by various means, 18 including the transport of infected hosts and fleas along overland trade routes or aboard rat-infested ships during the three historically documented pandemics. The third of these pandemics and that most relevant to this study introduced plague to North American ports in the late nineteenth century; where it afterwards "escaped" into native rodent populations, eventually spreading east through the Rocky Mountains to the western edge of the Great Plains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range-wide Determinants of Plague Distribution in North America

Maher

Ellis²,

Gage³

et al. 2010

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis , is established across western North America, and yet little is known of what determines the broad-scale dimensions of its overall range. We tested whether its North American distribution represents a composite of individual host-plague associations (the "Host Niche Hypothesis"), or whether mammal hosts become infected only at sites overlapping ecological conditions appropriate for plague transmission and maintenance (the "Plague Niche Hypothesis"). We took advantage of a novel data set summarizing plague records in wild mammals newly digitized from paper-based records at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop range-wide tests of ecological niche similarity between mammal host niches and plague-infected host niches. Results indicate that plague infections occur under circumstances distinct from the broader ecological distribution of hosts, and that plagueinfected niches are similar among hosts; hence, evidence coincides with the predictions of the Plague Niche Hypothesis, and contrasts with those of the Host Niche Hypothesis. The "plague niche" is likely driven by ecological requirements of vector flea species.

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“…Low overall rates of plague exposure during and preceding epizootics among rodent (Stapp et al 2008) and nonrodent (Brinkerhoff et al 2009) mammalian species point to a nonmammalian source of Y. pestis infection to prairie dogs. Recent demonstrations of Y. pestis persistence in soils (Ayyadurai et al 2008, Eisen et al 2008b indicate that a mammalian reservoir may not be required for epizootic initiation, although it has not been demonstrated that soils contaminated with Y. pestis can initiate epizootic events in prairie dogs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent and Flea Abundance Fail to Predict a Plague Epizootic in Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs

Brinkerhoff

Collinge

Ray

et al. 2010

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Small rodents are purported to be enzootic hosts of Yersinia pestis and may serve as sources of infection to prairie dogs or other epizootic hosts by direct or flea-mediated transmission. Recent research has shown that small rodent species composition and small rodent flea assemblages are influenced by the presence of prairie dogs, with higher relative abundance of both small rodents and fleas at prairie dog colony sites compared to grasslands without prairie dogs. However, it is unclear if increased rodent or flea abundance predisposes prairie dogs to infection with Y. pestis. We tracked rodent and flea occurrence for 3 years at a number of prairie dog colony sites in Boulder County, Colorado, before, during, and after a local plague epizootic to see if high rodent or flea abundance was associated with plague-affected colonies when compared to colonies that escaped infection. We found no difference in preepizootic rodent abundance or flea prevalence or abundance between plague-positive and plague-negative colonies. Further, we saw no significant before-plague=after-plague change in these metrics at either plague-positive or plague-negative sites. We did, however, find that small rodent species assemblages changed in the year following prairie dog die-offs at plague-affected colonies when compared to unaffected colonies. In light of previous research from this system that has shown that landscape features and proximity to recently plagued colonies are significant predictors of plague occurrence in prairie dogs, we suggest that landscape context is more important to local plague occurrence than are characteristics of rodent or flea species assemblages.

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Persistence ofYersinia pestisin Soil Under Natural Conditions

Cited by 97 publications

References 9 publications

Predicting small mammal and flea abundance using landform and soil properties in a plague endemic area in Lushoto District, Tanzania

Predicting small mammal and flea abundance using landform and soil properties in a plague endemic area in Lushoto District, Tanzania

Range-wide Determinants of Plague Distribution in North America

Rodent and Flea Abundance Fail to Predict a Plague Epizootic in Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs

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