Abstract
Plague is caused by a bacterial pathogen (Yersinia pestis) that can infect a wide range of mammal species, but its presence in wildlife is often underappreciated. Using a large-scale data set (n = 44,857) that details the extent of Y. pestis exposure in wildlife, we document exposure in 18 wildlife species, including coyotes (Canis latrans), bobcats (Lynx rufus), and black bears (Ursus americanus). Evidence of plague activity is widespread, with seropositive animals detected in every western state in the contiguous United States. Pathogen monitoring systems in wildlife that are both large scale and long-term are rare, yet they open the door for analyses on potential shifts in distribution that have occurred over time because of climate or land use changes. The data generated by these long-term monitoring programs, combined with recent advances in our understanding of pathogen ecology, offer a clearer picture of zoonotic pathogens and the risks they pose.
Highlights
Plague is a disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis, and it is often closely associated with historic human pandemics, Y. pestis is primarily a pathogen of rodents and other wild animals
From 2015 to 2018, 44,857 samples were collected from wildlife in the western United States and screened for exposure to Y. pestis
New Mexico and the Four Corners region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) are where a majority of human cases occur in the United States (Kwit et al 2015) and a similar signal was seen in this study, which demonstrated substantial Y. pestis exposure in wildlife in New Mexico (20.5%; 95% CrI, 6.4–65.7); other states that are only rarely associated with human plague cases had high seroprevalence in wild canids, including Wyoming (28.1%; 95% CrI, 10.7–49.1) and Utah (20.6%; 95% CrI, 3.5–41.9)
Summary
Plague is a disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis, and it is often closely associated with historic human pandemics, Y. pestis is primarily a pathogen of rodents and other wild animals. Spillover into other taxa can result in clinical disease and death, with humans, felids, lagomorphs, and prairie dogs being some of the species known to develop severe Y. pestis infections (Eidson et al 1988, Gasper et al 1993, Gage et al 1994, Biggins and Kosoy 2001, Gage and Kosoy 2005). There are significant wildlife and domestic animal health issues associated with plague, the best known of which are the dramatic die-offs seen in prairie dogs (Cynomys sp.) and black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), where mortality can approach 100% for both predator and prey (Matchett et al 2010, Biggins and Eads 2019). Plague-associated mortality is seen in wildlife species such as mountain lions
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