scholarly journals Protection of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) against Plague after Voluntary Consumption of Baits Containing Recombinant Raccoon Poxvirus Vaccine

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 5502-5505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan S. Mencher ◽  
Susan R. Smith ◽  
Tim D. Powell ◽  
Dan T. Stinchcomb ◽  
Jorge E. Osorio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Cynomys Ludovicianus ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Western United States ◽  
F1 Antigen ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
Negative Controls

ABSTRACT Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are highly susceptible to Yersinia pestis and significant reservoirs of plague for humans in the western United States. A recombinant raccoon poxvirus, expressing the F1 antigen of Y. pestis, was incorporated into a palatable bait and offered to 18 black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) for voluntary consumption; 18 negative control animals received placebo baits. Antibody titers against Y. pestis F1 antigen increased significantly (P < 0.01) in vaccinees, and their survival was significantly higher upon challenge with Y. pestis than that of negative controls (P < 0.01).

INITIATION AND SPREAD OF TRAVELING WAVES OF PLAGUE, YERSINIA PESTIS, IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNIFER ZIPSER ADJEMIAN ◽  
JANET E. FOLEY ◽  
PATRICK FOLEY ◽  
KENNETH L. GAGE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Traveling Waves ◽  
Western United States

Recommendations for the Control of Yersinia pestis Infections

1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 324-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. White ◽  
Diane Gordon ◽  
Jack D. Poland ◽  
Allan M. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Antibiotic Therapy ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Etiologic Agent ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Clinical Forms ◽  
Duration Of Hospitalization ◽  
Theoretical Risk

AbstractYersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, is endemic in the western United States; 105 cases were reported between 1970 and 1979. Plague may manifest in one of three clinical forms: bubonic, septicemic, or pneumonic. Bubonic and septicemic plague represent relatively little risk for human-to-human transmission to contacts, although heavily infected secretions, such as drainage from a bubo, pose a theoretical risk, especially if they are aerosolized from a syringe during diagnostic aspirations. Pneumonic plague may be highly contagious to contacts and poses a greater risk. The Plague Branch, Center for Disease Control recommends that all patients with plague be placed in strict isolation for the first 48 hours of treatment because of the possibility that pneumonia may supervene. If it does not, wound and skin precautions are adequate for the duration of hospitalization. Untreated plague pneumonia is an epidemiologic emergency. All contacts must be identified promptly and those with face-to-face exposure should receive abortive antibiotic therapy. All contacts should be under surveillance, with twice-daily temperature checks, for seven days.

scholarly journals Human plague in the USA: the importance of regional and local climate

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Ben Ari ◽  
Alexander Gershunov ◽  
Kenneth L Gage ◽  
Tord Snäll ◽  
Paul Ettestad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Pacific Decadal Oscillation ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

A 56-year time series of human plague cases ( Yersinia pestis ) in the western United States was used to explore the effects of climatic patterns on plague levels. We found that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), together with previous plague levels and above-normal temperatures, explained much of the plague variability. We propose that the PDO's impact on plague is conveyed via its effect on precipitation and temperature and the effect of precipitation and temperature on plague hosts and vectors: warmer and wetter climate leading to increased plague activity and thus an increased number of human cases. Our analysis furthermore provides insights into the consistency of plague mechanisms at larger scales.

Droughts may increase susceptibility of prairie dogs to fleas: incongruity with hypothesized mechanisms of plague cycles in rodents

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 1044-1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Eads ◽  
Dean E. Biggins ◽  
Dustin H. Long ◽  
Kenneth L. Gage ◽  
Michael F. Antolin
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Cynomys Ludovicianus ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Supplemental Food ◽  
Disease Rates ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Term Data

Abstract Plague is a reemerging, rodent-associated zoonosis caused by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis. As a vector-borne disease, rates of plague transmission may increase when fleas are abundant. Fleas are highly susceptible to desiccation under hot-dry conditions; we posited that their densities decline during droughts. We evaluated this hypothesis with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in New Mexico, June–August 2010–2012. Precipitation was relatively plentiful during 2010 and 2012 but scarce during 2011, the driest spring–summer on record for the northeastern grasslands of New Mexico. Unexpectedly, fleas were 200% more abundant in 2011 than in 2010 and 2012. Prairie dogs were in 27% better condition during 2010 and 2012, and they devoted 287% more time to grooming in 2012 than in 2011. During 2012, prairie dogs provided with supplemental food and water were in 23% better condition and carried 40% fewer fleas. Collectively, these results suggest that during dry years, prairie dogs are limited by food and water, and they exhibit weakened defenses against fleas. Long-term data are needed to evaluate the generality of whether droughts increase flea densities and how changes in flea abundance during sequences of dry and wet years might affect plague cycles in mammalian hosts.

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