Abstract
Plague is a flea-borne rodent-associated zoonotic disease that is caused by Yersinia pestis and characterized by long quiescent periods punctuated by rapidly spreading epidemics and epizootics. How plague bacteria persist during inter-epizootic periods is poorly understood, yet is important for predicting when and where epizootics are likely to occur and for designing interventions aimed at local elimination of the pathogen. Existing hypotheses of how Y. pestis is maintained within plague foci typically center on host abundance or diversity, but little attention has been paid to the importance of flea diversity in enzootic maintenance. Our study compares host and flea abundance and diversity along an elevation gradient that spans from low elevation sites outside of a plague focus in the West Nile region of Uganda (∼725–1160 m) to higher elevation sites within the focus (∼1380–1630 m). Based on a year of sampling, we showed that host abundance and diversity, as well as total flea abundance on hosts was similar between sites inside compared with outside the plague focus. By contrast, flea diversity was significantly higher inside the focus than outside. Our study highlights the importance of considering flea diversity in models of Y. pestis persistence.
Highlights
Plague is a flea-borne rodent-associated zoonotic disease that is caused by Yersinia pestis and characterized by long quiescent periods punctuated by rapidly spreading epidemics and epizootics
Defining the geographic foci in which Y. pestis persists during inter-epizootic periods and understanding the mechanisms of persistence are critical for designing interventions aimed at locally eliminating the pathogen and for anticipating where future epizootics are most likely to occur
Throughout a year of sampling along an elevation gradient spanning from low elevation sites situated outside of the West Nile plague focus, to higher elevation sites within the focus, we did not identify any significant differences in host abundance or diversity between sites within the defined plague focus compared with outside the focus
Summary
Plague is a flea-borne rodent-associated zoonotic disease that is caused by Yersinia pestis and characterized by long quiescent periods punctuated by rapidly spreading epidemics and epizootics. Yersinia pestis is notorious for causing three major human pandemics that killed millions. The magnitude of these pandemics has been credited for changing economic and political history and for notable improvements in public health [1,2]. Plague remains a standard against which modern scourges are compared and the recrudescence of plague can cause major disruptions to social and economic infrastructure at local scales that can have global ripple effects [4]. Defining the geographic foci in which Y. pestis persists during inter-epizootic periods and understanding the mechanisms of persistence are critical for designing interventions aimed at locally eliminating the pathogen and for anticipating where future epizootics are most likely to occur
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