Publications

[susceptibility of rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus frugivorus from the city of recife to pasteurella pestis].		1969	5376934
[studies of yersinia pestis in wild animals captured in ankara, konya and nevsehir].	no yersinia pestis could be isolated, by culturing and by inoculations to 1212 guinea-pigs and 150 mice; from 623 citellus, 41 mus musculus, 55 microtus, 442 meriones, 70 rattus rattus, 56 turtle, 89 hare, 1 hamster, 1 hedgehog, 1 sea snake, altogether 790 dead, 589 alive, i.e. 1379. wild animals captured in ankara, konya (karapinar), urfa (akçakale) and in nevşehir. in 141 sera taken from citellus captured alive, and in 174 sera taken from guinea-pigs inoculated with spleen, liver and kidney su ...	1976	933892
antiplague antibodies against yersinia pestis fraction-i antigen in serum from rodents either experimentally infected or captured in harbor areas of japan, 1971--1977.	antiplague indirect hemagglutination tests were investigated with yersinia pestis fraction-i antigen and sera from experimentally infected rodents. the same tests with sera treated with acetone or acetone-2-mercaptoethanol were performed in parallel. technical conditions were determined to insure the specificity and reproducibility of the reactions. utilizing the methods studied, we carried out serological surveillance of plague with sera from wild rats (rattus rattus and r. norvegicus) captured ...	1979	537520
plague in central java, indonesia.	plague in man occurred from 1968 to 1970 in mountain villages of the boyolali regency in central java. infected fleas, infected rats, and seropositive rats were collected in villages with human plague cases. subsequent isolations of yersinia pestis and seropositive rodents, detected during investigations of rodent plague undertaken by the government of indonesia and the who, attested to the persistence of plague in the region from 1972 to 1974.since 1968, the incidence of both rodent and human p ...	1980	6968252
the first outbreak of human plague in lushoto district, north-east tanzania.	a one-week investigation was performed at mkunki and mavumo (ward of shume, lushoto district, tanzania) at the time of outbreak (june, 1980). rodents, people, domestic dogs and fleas were examined, 36 rats, mostly rattus rattus, were caught and used in serological and bacteriological analysis for plague. 48 fleas, mostly xenopsylla brasiliensis, were collected from the captured rodents. 413 people and 11 dogs were examined. all rodent, carnivorous and human sera were tested for plague antibodies ...	1982	7101402
experimental yersinia pestis infection in rodents after intragastric inoculation and ingestion of bacteria.	to clarify the pathogenesis of oral plague infection, we studied the susceptibility of three species of rodents to intragastric inoculation of yersinia pestis, described the pathology and progression of infection, and measured antibody responses to fraction ia antigen of y. pestis. the 50% lethal doses of bacteria by intragastric inoculation for mus musculus, zygodontomys pixuna, and rattus rattus were log10 = 6.32, 5.46, and 9.62, respectively, which were at least 1,000-fold higher than the val ...	1982	7095845
evidence for the extinction of plague in hawaii.	plague (infection by yersinia pestis) was present in hawaii for the period 1899-1957 and caused at least 370 fatalities. the first infections came from immigrant commensal rats, probably rattus rattus and rattus norvegicus, on ships from the orient. both species were already established in hawaii and became the widespread local carriers of plague, supplemented by rattus exulans which had colonized the islands in ancient polynesian times. the flea xenopsylla vexabilis arrived with r. exulans, and ...	1984	6364800
a decade of plague epidemiology and control in the western usambara mountains, north-east tanzania.	outbreaks of human plague have been occurring in the western usambara mountains since 1980, involving many cases and deaths. epidemiological surveys and control activities were carried out from june 1980 to may 1990. rodents were trapped live, identified and serologically tested for plague, using the passive haemagglutination and passive haemagglutination inhibition tests. rodent fleas were collected, processed, identified and counted. house fleas were caught with light traps and similarly treat ...	1992	1356303
[plague in zaire].	two endemic foci of plague have been discovered in zaïre, the first in the ituri in 1928, the other in north-kivu in 1938. they are situated in the region of the great east-african rift and are adjacent to the ugandan focus, identified in 1877. a strict surveillance of these endemic foci makes it possible to state that, between 1928 and 1959, 632 cases of plague have been diagnosed in the ituri, or 20 a year, and 190 in the n-kivu, or 8 a year. since then several flare ups have been notified. th ...	1994	7801703
entomological and rodent surveillance in plague-suspected areas during september 1994 and thereafter.	studies carried out in the states of maharashtra, gujarat, uttar pradesh and union territory of delhi after the bubonic plague outbreak during 1994 revealed the presence of seven species of rodents, viz. rattus rattus, r. norvegicus, mus. musculus, tatera indica, suncus murinus, bandicoota bengalensis and b. indica. the flea species encountered were xenopsylla cheopis and x. astia. the x. cheopis and x. astia index recorded in different areas of beed district of maharashtra; surat, vadodra and b ...	1997	9556751
plague, a reemerging disease in madagascar.	human cases of plague, which had virtually disappeared in madagascar after the 1930s, reappeared in 1990 with more than 200 confirmed or presumptive cases reported each year since. in the port of mahajanga, plague has been reintroduced, and epidemics occur every year. in antananarivo, the capital, the number of new cases has increased, and many rodents are infected with yersinia pestis. despite surveillance for the sensitivity of y. pestis and fleas to drugs and insecticides and control measures ...	1998	9452403
[resurgence of the plague in the ikongo district of madagascar in 1998. 2. reservoirs and vectors implicated].	our survey of mammals and fleas arose as a result of an outbreak of bubonic plague at an usually low altitude in the ikongo district (madagascar), while a previous study had found anti-f1 antibodies in an endemic hedgehog. animals were sampled with live traps in two hamlets (antanambao-vohidrotra, 540 m alt. and ambalagoavy, 265 m alt.) and with pitfall traps in a neighbouring forest (750 m alt.). rat fleas were collected by brushing the fur and free-living fleas by use of light traps. the intro ...	2001	11475029
[surveillance of plague in the state of ceará: 1990-1999].	serological surveillance activities regarding the foci of plague in ceará state have detected a rising number of sentinel animals with antiplague antibodies in 1995, with a peak in 1997 demonstrating an increase in the plague bacteria activities throughout all the foci investigated. from a total of 110,725 serum samples collected from rodents (7,873) and domestic carnivores (102,852) analyzed by the hemaglutination technique (ha) for antibodies against f1 antigen of yersinia pestis 905 samples t ...	2002	12011922
short report: serodiagnosis of plague in humans and rats using a rapid test.	serodiagnosis of plague is very useful for its retrospective confirmation and for epidemiologic studies in humans and in rodents, since rats constitute the main natural reservoir of yersinia pestis. we have developed a rapid test for the detection of igg antibodies to fraction 1 (f1) based on immunochromatography and protein a to detect both human and rat igg. when tested with reference human sera (35 positive and 37 negative), this assay showed a sensitivity of 94.3% and a specificity of 89.2%. ...	2003	14640508
quick control of bubonic plague outbreak in uttar kashi, india.	a localized outbreak of bubonic plague occurred in village dangud (population 332), district uttar kashi, uttaranchal, india in the second week of october 2004. 8 cases were considered outbreak associated based on their clinical and epidemiological characteristics; 3 (27.3%) of them died within 48 hours of developing illness. all the 3 fatal cases and five surviving cases had enlargement of inguinal lymph nodes. none of them had pneumonia. the age of the cases ranged from 23-70 years and both se ...	2004	16506545
virulence markers of lcr plasmid in indian isolates of yersinia pestis.	presence of 10 important yop genes in yersinia pestis isolates (18 in number) of indian origin from 1994 plague outbreak regions of maharashtra (6 rattus rattus & tetera indica rodents) and gujarat (11 from human patients, 1 from r. rattus) and from plague endemic regions of the deccan plateau (8 from t. indica) was located by pcr and specific enzyme immunoassay. pcrs were standardized for six effector yops (yope, yoph, yopj, yopm, yopo and yopt), three translocator yops (yopb, yopd and yopk) an ...	2006	16499656
ectoparasite diversity and exposure to vector-borne disease agents in wild rodents in central coastal california.	a survey of wild rodents was performed in the morro bay area of central coastal california to determine serological and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) prevalence of anaplasma phagocytophilum dumler, barbet, bekker, dasch, palmer, ray, rikihisa, and rurangirwa, borrelia burgdorferi johnson, schmidt, hyde, steigerwalt, and brenner, francisella tularensis mccoy, and yersinia pestis yersin; to describe the ectoparasitic fauna on important vector-borne disease hosts; and to determine whether pathoge ...	2007	17427705
early-phase transmission of yersinia pestis by cat fleas (ctenocephalides felis) and their potential role as vectors in a plague-endemic region of uganda.	in recent decades, the majority of human plague cases (caused by yersinia pestis) have been reported from africa. in northwest uganda, which has had recent plague outbreaks, cat fleas (ctenocephalides felis) have been reported as the most common fleas in the home environment, which is suspected to be a major exposure site for human plague in this country. in the past, c. felis has been viewed as only a nuisance-biting insect because limited laboratory studies suggested it is incapable of transmi ...	2008	18541775
ccr5 polymorphism and plague resistance in natural populations of the black rat in madagascar.	madagascar remains one of the world's largest plague foci. the black rat, rattus rattus, is the main reservoir of plague in rural areas. this species is highly susceptible to plague in plague-free areas (low-altitude regions), whereas rats from the plague focus areas (central highlands) have evolved a disease-resistance polymorphism. we used the candidate gene ccr5 to investigate the genetic basis of plague resistance in r. rattus. we found a unique non-synonymous substitution (h184r) in a funct ...	2008	18703167
susceptibility to yersinia pestis experimental infection in wild rattus rattus, reservoir of plague in madagascar.	in madagascar, the black rat, rattus rattus, is the main reservoir of plague (yersinia pestis infection), a disease still responsible for hundreds of cases each year in this country. this study used experimental plague challenge to assess susceptibility in wild-caught rats to better understand how r. rattus can act as a plague reservoir. an important difference in plague resistance between rat populations from the plague focus (central highlands) and those from the plague-free zone (low altitude ...	2010	20443044
study on the movement of rattus rattus and evaluation of the plague dispersion in madagascar.	plague affects mainly the rural areas in the central highlands of madagascar. rattus rattus is the main rodent host of yersinia pestis in these localities. since the introduction of plague, endemic foci have continued to expand, and spatiotemporal variability in the distribution of human plague has been observed. to assess the movements of r. rattus and evaluate the risk of dispersion of the disease, a field study at the scale of the habitats (houses, hedges of sisals, and rice fields) in the pl ...	2010	20158335
phylogeography and molecular epidemiology of yersinia pestis in madagascar.	plague was introduced to madagascar in 1898 and continues to be a significant human health problem. it exists mainly in the central highlands, but in the 1990s was reintroduced to the port city of mahajanga, where it caused extensive human outbreaks. despite its prevalence, the phylogeography and molecular epidemiology of y. pestis in madagascar has been difficult to study due to the great genetic similarity among isolates. we examine island-wide geographic-genetic patterns based upon whole-geno ...	2011	21931876
aflp genome scan in the black rat (rattus rattus) from madagascar: detecting genetic markers undergoing plague-mediated selection.	the black rat (rattus rattus) is the main reservoir of plague (yersinia pestis infection) in madagascar's rural zones. black rats are highly resistant to plague within the plague focus (central highland), whereas they are susceptible where the disease is absent (low altitude zone). to better understand plague wildlife circulation and host evolution in response to a highly virulent pathogen, we attempted to determine genetic markers associated with plague resistance in this species. to this purpo ...	2011	20444082
immune responses to plague infection in wild rattus rattus, in madagascar: a role in foci persistence?	plague is endemic within the central highlands of madagascar, where its main reservoir is the black rat, rattus rattus. typically this species is considered susceptible to plague, rapidly dying after infection inducing the spread of infected fleas and, therefore, dissemination of the disease to humans. however, persistence of transmission foci in the same area from year to year, supposes mechanisms of maintenance among which rat immune responses could play a major role. immunity against plague a ...	2012	22719908
contrasted patterns of selection on mhc-linked microsatellites in natural populations of the malagasy plague reservoir.	plague (yersinia pestis infection) is a highly virulent rodent disease that persists in many natural ecosystems. the black rat (rattus rattus) is the main host involved in the plague focus of the central highlands of madagascar. black rat populations from this area are highly resistant to plague, whereas those from areas in which the disease is absent (low altitude zones of madagascar) are susceptible. various lines of evidence suggest a role for the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) in pla ...	2012	22403713
understanding the persistence of plague foci in madagascar.	plague, a zoonosis caused by yersinia pestis, is still found in africa, asia, and the americas. madagascar reports almost one third of the cases worldwide. y. pestis can be encountered in three very different types of foci: urban, rural, and sylvatic. flea vector and wild rodent host population dynamics are tightly correlated with modulation of climatic conditions, an association that could be crucial for both the maintenance of foci and human plague epidemics. the black rat rattus rattus, the m ...	2013	24244760
factors associated with flea infestation among the different rodent species in mbulu and karatu districts, northern tanzania.	flea infection with the bacterium, yersinia pestis is acquired from reservoirs which include several rodents and other small mammals. in areas that are endemic of plague, reservoirs of y. pestis and various flea vectors are responsible for perpetuating existence of the disease. the objective of this cross sectional study was to investigate the magnitude and factors associated with flea infestation among different rodent species of northern tanzania, where outbreaks of plague have been recently r ...	2013	26591705
plague circulation and population genetics of the reservoir rattus rattus: the influence of topographic relief on the distribution of the disease within the madagascan focus.	landscape may affect the distribution of infectious diseases by influencing the population density and dispersal of hosts and vectors. plague (yersinia pestis infection) is a highly virulent, re-emerging disease, the ecology of which has been scarcely studied in africa. human seroprevalence data for the major plague focus of madagascar suggest that plague spreads heterogeneously across the landscape as a function of the relief. plague is primarily a disease of rodents. we therefore investigated ...	2013	23755317
beyond an aflp genome scan towards the identification of immune genes involved in plague resistance in rattus rattus from madagascar.	genome scans using amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp) markers became popular in nonmodel species within the last 10 years, but few studies have tried to characterize the anonymous outliers identified. this study follows on from an aflp genome scan in the black rat (rattus rattus), the reservoir of plague (yersinia pestis infection) in madagascar. we successfully sequenced 17 of the 22 markers previously shown to be potentially affected by plague-mediated selection and associated with ...	2013	23237097
identification of risk factors for plague in the west nile region of uganda.	plague is an often fatal, primarily flea-borne rodent-associated zoonosis caused by yersinia pestis. we sought to identify risk factors for plague by comparing villages with and without a history of human plague cases within a model-defined plague focus in the west nile region of uganda. although rat (rattus rattus) abundance was similar inside huts within case and control villages, contact rates between rats and humans (as measured by reported rat bites) and host-seeking flea loads were higher ...	2014	24686743
seasonal fluctuations of small mammal and flea communities in a ugandan plague focus: evidence to implicate arvicanthis niloticus and crocidura spp. as key hosts in yersinia pestis transmission.	the distribution of human plague risk is strongly associated with rainfall in the tropical plague foci of east africa, but little is known about how the plague bacterium is maintained during periods between outbreaks or whether environmental drivers trigger these outbreaks. we collected small mammals and fleas over a two year period in the west nile region of uganda to examine how the ecological community varies seasonally in a region with areas of both high and low risk of human plague cases.	2015	25573253
pneumonic plague outbreak, northern madagascar, 2011.	yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is endemic to madagascar, particularly to the central highlands. although plague has not been previously reported in northern madagascar, an outbreak of pneumonic plague occurred in this remote area in 2011. over a 27-day period, 17 suspected, 2 presumptive, and 3 confirmed human cases were identified, and all 15 untreated 20 patients died. molecular typing of y. pestis isolated from 2 survivors and 5 rattus rattus rat samples identified the madaga ...	2015	25530466
detection of a yersinia pestis gene homologue in rodent samples.	a homologue to a widely used genetic marker, pla, for yersinia pestis has been identified in tissue samples of two species of rat (rattus rattus and rattus norvegicus) and of mice (mus musculus and apodemus sylvaticus) using a microarray based platform to screen for zoonotic pathogens of interest. samples were from urban locations in the uk (liverpool) and canada (vancouver). the results indicate the presence of an unknown bacterium that shares a homologue for the pla gene of yersinia pestis, so ...	2016	27602258
effectiveness of fipronil as a systemic control agent against xenopsylla cheopis (siphonaptera: pulicidae) in madagascar.	fipronil was evaluated as a systemic control agent for the rat flea xenopsylla cheopis (rothschild), the main vector of yersinia pestis (yersin), the causative agent of plague, in madagascar. the effectiveness of fipronil as a systemic control agent against x. cheopis was assessed by determining the toxicity values of the "lethal dose 50" (ld50). two techniques were used to evaluate the systemic action of the insecticide on the vector: 1) an artificial feeding device filled with blood-fipronil m ...	2017	28122816