Linked Life Data

18454591

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/18454591

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-6-16
pubmed:abstractText
Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, often leads to rapid decimation of black-tailed prairie dog colonies. Flea-borne transmission of Y. pestis has been thought to occur primarily via blocked fleas, and therefore studies of vector efficiency have focused on the period when blockage is expected to occur (> or =5 days post-infection [p.i.]). Oropsylla hirsuta, a prairie dog flea, rarely blocks and transmission is inefficient > or =5 days p.i.; thus, this flea has been considered incapable of explaining rapid dissemination of Y. pestis among prairie dogs. By infecting wild-caught fleas with Y. pestis and exposing naïve mice to groups of fleas at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h p.i., we examined the early-phase (1-4 days p.i.) efficiency of O. hirsuta to transmit Y. pestis to hosts and showed that O. hirsuta is a considerably more efficient vector at this largely overlooked stage (5.19% of fleas transmit Y. pestis at 24 h p.i.) than at later stages. Using a model of vectorial capacity, we suggest that this level of transmission can support plague at an enzootic level in a population when flea loads are within the average observed for black-tailed prairie dogs in nature. Shared burrows and sociality of prairie dogs could lead to accumulation of fleas when host population is reduced as a result of the disease, enabling epizootic spread of plague among prairie dogs.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1530-3667
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
8
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
359-67
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Oropsylla hirsuta (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) can support plague epizootics in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) by early-phase transmission of Yersinia pestis.
pubmed:affiliation
Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA. apwilder@lamar.colostate.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't