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Esmaeili S, Esmaeili P, Mahmoudi A, Ghasemi A, Mohammadi A, Bagheri A, Sohrabi A, Rezaei F, Hanifi H, Neamati AH, Gouya MM, Mostafavi E. Serological evidence of Yersinia pestis infection in rodents and carnivores in Northwestern Iran. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011021. [PMID: 36668675 PMCID: PMC9858819 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plague may recur after several decades in its endemic regions; therefore, the continuous monitoring of wildlife is essential, even when no human cases are reported in the old foci. The present study was conducted to monitor rodents and their ectoparasites as well as carnivores to learn about the epidemiology of plague infection in an old focus of Iran. METHODOLOGY The present study was conducted from 2019 to 2020 in Takestan county of Qazvin Province in northwestern Iran. Rodents were caught using live traps, and their fleas were separated. Blood and spleen specimens were taken from the captured rodents. Serum samples were also collected from sheepdogs and wild carnivores. The collected samples were tested by culture, serology (ELISA), and molecular methods to detect Yersinia pestis infection. FINDINGS A total of 399 small mammals were caught, of which 68.6% were Meriones persicus. A total of 2438 fleas were collected from the rodents, 95.3% of which were Xenopsylla buxtoni. Overall, 23 out of 377 tested rodents (5.7%, CI 95%, 3.9-9.0) had IgG antibodies against the F1 antigen of Y. pestis, and all the positive samples belonged to M. persicus. Nine (4.8%) out of 186 collected sera from the sheepdogs' serum and one serum from the Canis aureus had specific IgG antibodies against the F1 antigen of Y. pestis. There were no positive cases of Y. pestis in the rodents and fleas based on the culture and real-time PCR. CONCLUSION Serological evidence of Y. pestis circulation was observed in rodents and carnivores (sheepdogs and C. aureus). The presence of potential plague vectors and serological evidence of Y. pestis infection in the surveyed animals could probably raise the risk of infection and clinical cases of plague in the studied region. Training health personnel is therefore essential to encourage their detection of possible human cases of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saber Esmaeili
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, KabudarAhang, Hamadan, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Parisa Esmaeili
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, KabudarAhang, Hamadan, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ahmad Mahmoudi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
| | - Ahmad Ghasemi
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, KabudarAhang, Hamadan, Iran
- Reference Health Laboratories, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Mohammadi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amin Bagheri
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Aria Sohrabi
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, KabudarAhang, Hamadan, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farshid Rezaei
- Center for Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamed Hanifi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir Hesam Neamati
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Gouya
- Center for Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ehsan Mostafavi
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, KabudarAhang, Hamadan, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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Nyirenda SS, Hang'ombe BM, Mulenga E, Kilonzo BS. Serological and PCR investigation of Yersinia pestis in potential reservoir hosts from a plague outbreak focus in Zambia. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10:345. [PMID: 28754138 PMCID: PMC5534097 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2667-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Plague is a bacterial zoonotic disease, caused by Yersinia pestis. Rodents are the natural hosts with fleas as the vehicle of disease transmission. Domestic and wild dogs and cats have also been identified as possible disease hosts. In Zambia, plague outbreaks have been reported in the Southern and Eastern regions in the last 20 years. Based on these observations, Y. pestis could possibly be endemically present in the area. Methods To substantiate such possibility, sera samples were collected from rodents, shrews, dogs and cats for detection of antibodies against Fraction 1 gene (Fra1) of Y. pestis while organs from rodents and shrews, and fleas from both dogs and rodents were collected to investigate plasminogen activator gene (pla gene) of Y. pestis using ELISA and PCR respectively. Results A total of 369 blood samples were collected from domestic carnivores, shrews and domestic and peri-domestic rodents while 199 organs were collected from the rodents and shrews. Blood samples were tested for antibodies against Fra1 antigen using ELISA and 3% (5/165) (95% CI 0.99–6.93%) dogs were positive while all cats were negative. Of 199 sera from rodents and shrews, 12.6% (95% CI 8.30–17.98%) were positive for antibodies against Fra1 using anti-rat IgG secondary antibody while using anti-mouse IgG secondary antibody, 17.6% (95% CI 12.57–23.60%) were positive. PCR was run on the organs and 2.5% (95% CI 0.82–5.77%) were positive for plasminogen activator gene of Y. pestis and the amplicons were sequenced and showed 99% identity with Y. pestis reference sequences. All 82 fleas collected from animals subjected to PCR, were negative for pla gene. The specific rat-flea and dog-flea indices were 0.19 and 0.27 respectively, which were lower than the level required to enhance chances of the disease outbreak. Conclusions We concluded that plague was still endemic in the area and the disease may infect human beings if contact is enhanced between reservoir hosts and flea vectors. The lower specific rodent-flea Indices and absence of Y. pestis in the potential vectors were considered to be partly responsible for the current absence of plague outbreaks despite its presence in the sylvatic cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- S S Nyirenda
- Central Veterinary Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Lusaka, P.O. Box 33980, Zambia. .,Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
| | - B M Hang'ombe
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - E Mulenga
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - B S Kilonzo
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
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Malek MA, Bitam I, Levasseur A, Terras J, Gaudart J, Azza S, Flaudrops C, Robert C, Raoult D, Drancourt M. Yersinia pestis halotolerance illuminates plague reservoirs. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40022. [PMID: 28054667 PMCID: PMC5214965 DOI: 10.1038/srep40022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The plague agent Yersinia pestis persists for years in the soil. Two millennia after swiping over Europe and North Africa, plague established permanent foci in North Africa but not in neighboring Europe. Mapping human plague foci reported in North Africa for 70 years indicated a significant location at <3 kilometers from the Mediterranean seashore or the edge of salted lakes named chotts. In Algeria, culturing 352 environmental specimens naturally containing 0.5 to 70 g/L NaCl yielded one Y. pestis Orientalis biotype isolate in a 40 g/L NaCl chott soil specimen. Core genome SNP analysis placed this isolate within the Y. pestis branch 1, Orientalis biovar. Culturing Y. pestis in broth steadily enriched in NaCl indicated survival up to 150 g/L NaCl as L-form variants exhibiting a distinctive matrix assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry peptide profile. Further transcriptomic analyses found the upregulation of several outer-membrane proteins including TolC efflux pump and OmpF porin implied in osmotic pressure regulation. Salt tolerance of Y. pestis L-form may play a role in the maintenance of natural plague foci in North Africa and beyond, as these geographical correlations could be extended to 31 plague foci in the northern hemisphere (from 15°N to 50°N).
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Affiliation(s)
- Maliya Alia Malek
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
- Laboratoire Biodiversité et Environnement: Interactions Génomes, Faculté des Sciences Biologiques Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene, El Alia, Bab Ezzouar 16111, Algérie
| | - Idir Bitam
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
- Laboratoire Biodiversité et Environnement: Interactions Génomes, Faculté des Sciences Biologiques Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene, El Alia, Bab Ezzouar 16111, Algérie
| | - Anthony Levasseur
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Jérôme Terras
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Jean Gaudart
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
- Aix-Marseille Université, UMR912 SESSTIM (INSERM/IRD/AMU), Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Said Azza
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Christophe Flaudrops
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Catherine Robert
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Didier Raoult
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Bd Jean MOULIN, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France
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Malek MA, Hammani A, Beneldjouzi A, Bitam I. Enzootic plague foci, Algeria. New Microbes New Infect 2014; 4:13-6. [PMID: 25834736 PMCID: PMC4354914 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2014.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Revised: 11/01/2014] [Accepted: 11/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In Algeria, PCR sequencing of pla, glpD and rpoB genes found Yersinia pestis in 18/237 (8%) rodents of five species, including Apodemus sylvaticus, previously undescribed as pestiferous; and disclosed three new plague foci. Multiple spacer typing confirmed a new Orientalis variant. Rodent survey should be reinforced in this country hosting reemerging plague.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Malek
- Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UM 63, UMR_S 1095 UMR 7278, 13385 Marseille, France ; Laboratoire VALCORE, Faculté des Sciences, Université M'Hamed Bougara Boumerdès (UMBB), Boumerdès, Algeria
| | - A Hammani
- Faculté des Sciences Biologiques et Agronomiques, Université Mouloud Mammeri, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
| | | | - I Bitam
- Laboratoire VALCORE, Faculté des Sciences, Université M'Hamed Bougara Boumerdès (UMBB), Boumerdès, Algeria
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Cabanel N, Leclercq A, Chenal-Francisque V, Annajar B, Rajerison M, Bekkhoucha S, Bertherat E, Carniel E. Plague outbreak in Libya, 2009, unrelated to plague in Algeria. Emerg Infect Dis 2013; 19:230-6. [PMID: 23347743 PMCID: PMC3559055 DOI: 10.3201/eid1902.121031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
After 25 years of no cases of plague, this disease recurred near Tobruk, Libya, in 2009. An epidemiologic investigation identified 5 confirmed cases. We determined ribotypes, Not1 restriction profiles, and IS100 and IS1541 hybridization patterns of strains isolated during this outbreak. We also analyzed strains isolated during the 2003 plague epidemic in Algeria to determine whether there were epidemiologic links between the 2 events. Our results demonstrate unambiguously that neighboring but independent plague foci coexist in Algeria and Libya. They also indicate that these outbreaks were most likely caused by reactivation of organisms in local or regional foci believed to be dormant (Libya) or extinct (Algeria) for decades, rather than by recent importation of Yersinia pestis from distant foci. Environmental factors favorable for plague reemergence might exist in this area and lead to reactivation of organisms in other ancient foci.
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Simon S, Demeure C, Lamourette P, Filali S, Plaisance M, Créminon C, Volland H, Carniel E. Fast and simple detection of Yersinia pestis applicable to field investigation of plague foci. PLoS One 2013; 8:e54947. [PMID: 23383008 PMCID: PMC3558477 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2012] [Accepted: 12/19/2012] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the plague bacillus, has a rodent-flea-rodent life cycle but can also persist in the environment for various periods of time. There is now a convenient and effective test (F1-dipstick) for the rapid identification of Y. pestis from human patient or rodent samples, but this test cannot be applied to environmental or flea materials because the F1 capsule is mostly produced at 37°C. The plasminogen activator (PLA), a key virulence factor encoded by a Y. pestis-specific plasmid, is synthesized both at 20°C and 37°C, making it a good candidate antigen for environmental detection of Y. pestis by immunological methods. A recombinant PLA protein from Y. pestis synthesized by an Escherichia coli strain was used to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). PLA-specific mAbs devoid of cross-reactions with other homologous proteins were further cloned. A pair of mAbs was selected based on its specificity, sensitivity, comprehensiveness, and ability to react with Y. pestis strains grown at different temperatures. These antibodies were used to develop a highly sensitive one-step PLA-enzyme immunoassay (PLA-EIA) and an immunostrip (PLA-dipstick), usable as a rapid test under field conditions. These two PLA-immunometric tests could be valuable, in addition to the F1-disptick, to confirm human plague diagnosis in non-endemic areas (WHO standard case definition). They have the supplementary advantage of allowing a rapid and easy detection of Y. pestis in environmental and flea samples, and would therefore be of great value for surveillance and epidemiological investigations of plague foci. Finally, they will be able to detect natural or genetically engineered F1-negative Y. pestis strains in human patients and environmental samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Simon
- CEA Saclay, iBiTec-S, Service de Pharmacologie et d'Immunoanalyse, Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches en Immunoanalyse, Gif sur Yvette, France.
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Vittecoq M, Thomas F, Jourdain E, Moutou F, Renaud F, Gauthier-Clerc M. Risks of emerging infectious diseases: evolving threats in a changing area, the mediterranean basin. Transbound Emerg Dis 2012; 61:17-27. [PMID: 22998374 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The Mediterranean basin is a biodiversity hotspot; it has historically had a large human presence that has shaped ecosystems for millennia. As the cradle of many civilizations, the area was one of the main theatres for transitions that punctuated both human and pathogen histories, which are intimately linked. Today we are living through another great historical transition summarized in the expression 'global changes'. In this context, we are witnessing a rise in the emergence of pathogens widely associated with aforementioned global changes. The Mediterranean basin might be especially vulnerable to this phenomenon due to the acute consequences global changes will have in this key intercontinental interface region. In addition, Arab revolutions and European economic crisis are creating both sanitary issues and presenting new opportunities to improve infectious disease control and prevention in the region. The aim of this review is to identify the impacts that ongoing changes might have on the risk of infectious disease emergence in the Mediterranean basin. We focussed on three key domains undergoing transformations: (i) resources, namely safe drinking water and animal products, (ii) socio-economic factors including health inequalities within countries and poor sanitary conditions linked to ongoing conflicts and (iii) movements of people and goods that are reshaped by current changes and are intimately linked to the risk of disease proliferation. Building on recent examples, we try to identify upcoming challenges and discuss ways to meet them in the light of existing international human and veterinary health guidelines and their possible improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Vittecoq
- Centre de Recherche de la Tour du Valat, Arles, France; Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, UMR (IRD/CNRS/UM) 5290, Montpellier, France
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Bitam I, Ayyadurai S, Kernif T, Chetta M, Boulaghman N, Raoult D, Drancourt M. New rural focus of plague, Algeria. Emerg Infect Dis 2011; 16:1639-40. [PMID: 20875302 PMCID: PMC3294387 DOI: 10.3201/eid1610.091854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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