Duration of plague (Yersinia pestis) outbreaks in black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies of northern Colorado.
Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, triggers die-offs in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), but the time-frame of plague activity is not well understood. We document plague activity in fleas from prairie dogs and their burrows on three prairie dog colonies that suffered die-offs. We demonstrate that Y. pestis transmission occurs over periods from several months to over a year in prairie dog populations before observed die-offs.
Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
Krista
K
St Romain
Daniel W
DW
Tripp
Daniel J
DJ
Salkeld
Michael F
MF
Antolin
D000818:Animals; D003120:Colorado / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D015994:Incidence; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015995:Prevalence; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000382:microbiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity