Publications

biological species in praomys (mastomys) natalensis (smith), a rodent carrier of lassa virus and bubonic plague in africa.	plague has been known from countries surrounding rhodesia from as early as 1935, but was first reported from rhodesia in 1974. part of our investigation of the complex ecosystem involving yersinia pestis is critical assessment of the evolutionary status of natural populations belonging to formal, taxonomic species of implicated rodents. we present data on chromosomal and hemoglobin variation in sympatric populations and laboratory produced hybrids that give unequivocal evidence for at least two ...	1978	677375
evaluation of live attenuated plague vaccines in praomys (mastomys) natalensis.	a live attenuated yersinia pestis vaccine designated ev76-51f, which had previously been shown to be pathogenic in vervet monkeys but not in guinea pigs, was tested in the multimammate mouse praomys (mastomys) natalensis. doses of 10(6) viable organisms inoculated subcutaneously as either a lyophilized suspension or an agar-grown culture resulted in vaccination fatalities in praomys but not in white mice. hemagglutinating antibodies to the fraction 1 antigen were not stimulated by doses lower th ...	1977	908624
immune responses of two mastomys sibling species to yersinia pestis.	this study assessed the in vitro cell-mediated immune responses of mastomys natalensis, with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 32, and mastomys coucha, with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 36, to yersinia pestis. splenic mononuclear (mn) cells of uninfected m. natalensis proliferated in response to crude fraction 1 of y. pestis and two subfractions derived from fraction 1 in vitro. proliferation was dose dependent and followed the time kinetics of other well-known mitogens. further charact ...	1991	2037358
experimental plague infection in south african wild rodents.	susceptibility studies were undertaken to determine the response of some south african wild rodent species to experimental plague (yersinia pestis) infection. a degree of plague resistance was found in three gerbil species captured in the plague enzootic region of the northern cape province, these being the namaqua gerbil, desmodillus auricularis, (ld50 1 x 10(6) organisms), the bushveld gerbil, tatera leucogaster, (ld50 9.1 x 10(5)) and the highveld gerbil, t. brantsii (ld50 4 x 10(2)). animals ...	1986	3701038
susceptibility of members of the mastomys natalensis species complex to experimental infection with yersinia pestis.		1981	7264374
effects of land use on plague (yersinia pestis) activity in rodents in tanzania.	understanding the effects of land-use change on zoonotic disease risk is a pressing global health concern. here, we compare prevalence of yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, in rodents across two land-use types-agricultural and conserved-in northern tanzania. estimated abundance of seropositive rodents nearly doubled in agricultural sites compared with conserved sites. this relationship between land-use type and abundance of seropositive rodents is likely mediated by changes in roden ...	2015	25711606
evidence of yersinia pestis dna in rodents in plague outbreak foci in mbulu and karatu districts, northern tanzania.	human plague remains a public health concern in tanzania despite its quiescence in most foci for years, considering the recurrence nature of the disease. appreciable researches have involved serological screening of rodents, fleas and humans but none has involved molecular detection and hence proving the presence of yersinia pestis in rodents in the most recent affected foci, mbulu and karatu districts in northern tanzania. the objective of the current study was to employ a simple pcr to detect ...	2013	26591703
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