Publications

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
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
[detection of leptospira organisms in rattus rattus of two islands in the mozambique channel: europa and juan-de-nova].	europa and juan-de-nova are two little coral islands in the mozambique channel. they are only occupied by a troop detachment of 15 men, who exercise the french sovereignty and maintain the island. during these activities, the men work in dampness and they can encounter rats. the aim of this survey is to show presence of leptospirosis in these islands by testing rat kidney by specific pcr. the results found a positive specimen on each island (2/52) indicating a previously unknown presence of lept ...	2010	20099052
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
[description of three new species of paractenopsyllus genus (siphonaptera: leptopsyllinae) from madagascar].	the males of three new and rare species of the malagasy endemic genus paractenopsyllus wagner, 1938 are described. paractenopsyllus beaucournui, p. oconnori and p. raxworthyi have been collected on endemic small mammals and the black rat. as for others species of the genus, biotopes are rain-forests of the central highlands or the northern mountains of madagascar. two of the described species were collected at elevations lower than typical for the genus and below the limits of the highland biocl ...	2004	15490748
leptopsyllines from madagascar (insecta: siphonaptera: ceratophyllidae): description of five new species of paractenopsyllus wagner, 1938.	five new species of the malagasy endemic genus paractenopsyllus wagner, 1938, are described. paractenopsyllus rouxi, p. ratovonjatoi, p. duplantieri, p. juliamarinus and p. gemelli have been collected on endemic small mammals and the black rat. biotopes are mid-elevation rain-forests of the central highlands or the northern mountains of madagascar. morphological affinities between these new species and those already known provide taxonomic links within the genus. differences in the spatial and a ...	2004	15071828
helminths from introduced small mammals on kerguelen, crozet, and amsterdam islands (southern indian ocean).	four monoxenous nematodes and 1 heteroxenous cestode were found in 4 species of introduced small mammals on isolated sub-antarctic islands of the indian ocean. in the kerguelen archipelago, syphacia obvelata, passalurus ambiguus (nematoda: oxyuridae), and rodentolepis straminea (cestoda: cyclophyllidae) were respectively found in the house mouse mus musculus, the rabbit oryctolagus cuniculus, and the black rat rattus rattus. one accidental nematode, trichostrongylus sp. (nematoda: trichostrongyl ...	2001	11695402
[a contribution to the history of understanding the epidemiology of plague in madagascar].	plague appeared in madagascar in 1898, the pandemic coinciding with the french conquest. until 1921, harbor epidemics occurred in tamatave, majunga, diégo-suarez, fort-dauphin, vatomandry. in 1921, probably favored by the building of roads and railways, plague takes root on the high lands where it becomes endemic above 800 meters. the vaccine achievement by girard and robic with the ev strain, and its mass application from 1935 by estrade, milliau, brault, seyberlich and jan keguistel, allowed t ...	1995	11625936
[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
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
[ixodes randrianasoloi sp. n. (ixodoidea, ixodidae) parasite of rattus rattus (rodentia) in madagascar].		1969	5392667
[preliminary serologic investigation on plague enzootic in rattus rattus in madagascar].		1965	4959454
cytogenetical survey of black rats, rattus rattus, in southwest and central asia, with special regard to the evolutional relationship between three geographical types.		1974	4837970
studies on the karyotype and serum transferrin in the ceylon black rat, rattus rattus, having 40 chromosomes.		1974	4448104
variation of c-bands in the chromosomes of several subspecies of rattus rattus.	all subspecies of black rats (rattus rattus) used in the present study are characterized by having large and clear c-bands at the centromeric region. the appearance of the bands, however, is different in the subspecies. chromosome pair no. 1 in asian type black rats (2n=42), which are characterized by an acrocentric and subtelocentric polymorphism, showed c-band polymorphism. in phillipine rats (r. rattus mindanensis) the pair was subtelocentric with c-bands, but in malayan black rats (r. rattus ...	1975	1149576
supernumerary chromosomes in the black rat (rattus rattus) and their distribution in three geographic variants.	supernumerary chromosomes have been examined in 352 black rats, covering three geographic variants, by use of conventional and c-band staining techniques. metacentric supernumerary chromosomes, one to three in number, were found in malayan black rats (rattus rattus diardii), with 2n=42, in indian black rats (r. rattus rufescens), with 2n=38, and in ceylonese black rats (r. rattus kandianus), with 2n=40. the supernumeraries had similar morphology and stained heavily along their entire length by c ...	1977	862437