title: Identification of risk factors for plague in the West Nile Region of Uganda.
abstract: Plague is an often fatal, primarily flea-borne rodent-associated zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis. We sought to identify risk factors for plague by comparing villages with and without a history of human plague cases within a model-defined plague focus in the West Nile Region of Uganda. Although rat (Rattus rattus) abundance was similar inside huts within case and control villages, contact rates between rats and humans (as measured by reported rat bites) and host-seeking flea loads were higher in case villages. In addition, compared with persons in control villages, persons in case villages more often reported sleeping on reed or straw mats, storing food in huts where persons sleep, owning dogs and allowing them into huts where persons sleep, storing garbage inside or near huts, and cooking in huts where persons sleep. Compared with persons in case villages, persons in control villages more commonly reported replacing thatch roofing, and growing coffee, tomatoes, onions, and melons in agricultural plots adjacent to their homesteads. Rodent and flea control practices, knowledge of plague, distance to clinics, and most care-seeking practices were similar between persons in case villages and persons in control villages. Our findings reinforce existing plague prevention recommendations and point to potentially advantageous local interventions.
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda dyn2@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Eisen
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: MacMillan
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Atiku
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Joseph T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Mpanga
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zielinski-Gutierrez
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Christine B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Boegler
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Russell E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Enscore
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
authors.forename: Kenneth L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Gage
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D058267:Flea Infestations / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D058751:Livestock; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010571:Pest Control; D057805:Pets; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D051381:Rats; D012307:Risk Factors; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D012377:Rodentia; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult