Infection Prevalence, Bacterial Loads, and Transmission Efficiency in Oropsylla montana (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) One Day After Exposure to Varying Concentrations of Yersinia pestis in Blood

Details

• Journal Article:
  J Med Entomol
• Personal Author:
  Boegler, Karen A. ; Graham, Christine B. ; Johnson, Tammi L. ; Montenieri, John A. ; Eisen, Rebecca J.
• Description:
  Unblocked fleas can transmit Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, shortly (≤4 d) after taking an infectious bloodmeal. Investigators have measured so-called early-phase transmission (EPT) efficiency in various fleas following infection with highly bacteremic blood (≥10|cfu/ml). To date, no one has determined the lower limit of bacteremia required for fleas to acquire and transmit infection by EPT, though knowing this threshold is central to determining the length of time a host may be infectious to feeding fleas. Here, we evaluate the ability of Oropsylla montana (Baker) to acquire and transmit Y. pestis after feeding on blood containing 10| to 10|cfu/ml. We evaluated the resulting infection prevalence, bacterial loads, and transmission efficiency within the early-phase time period at 1 d postinfection. Fleas acquired infection from bacteremic blood across a wide range of concentrations, but transmission was observed only when fleas ingested highly bacteremic blood.
• Subjects:
  Animals Bacterial Load Feeding Behavior Flea Infestations Insect Vectors Plague Rats, Sprague-Dawley Siphonaptera Yersinia Pestis
• Keywords:
  Chlorination Early-phase Transmission Flea Household Water Treatment Oropsylla Montana Plague Safe Water Storage
• Source:
  J Med Entomol. 53(3):674-680
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjw004
• Pubmed ID:
  26843450
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6555412
• Document Type:
  Text ; Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; CC/CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e259730d62079569591e49db19441fd2bbd9fdb59ea00917fd3398d3aa705144edd03aa2e7ac6802c343389192fea4809970f9c6e946b5426478a73bbe3f65c0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/78924/cdc_78924_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 347.81 KB ]