A Field Study of Plague and Tularemia in Rodents, Western Iran.
Kurdistan Province in Iran is a historical focus for plague and tularemia. This study aimed at assessing the current status of these two foci by studying their rodent reservoirs.



Rodents were trapped and their ectoparasites were collected. The genus and species of both rodents and ectoparasites were determined. Serological analyses of rodent blood samples were done by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for plague and by standard tube agglutination assay for tularemia. Rodent spleen samples were subjected to bacterial culture, microscopic examination, and real-time PCR to search for active plague or tularemia infection.



During this study, 245 rodents were trapped, of which the most abundant genera were Apodemus (40%), Mus (24.49%), and Meriones (12.65%). One hundred fifty-three fleas, 37 mites, and 54 ticks were collected on these rodents. The results of all direct and indirect tests were negative for plague. Serological tests were positive for tularemia in 4.8% of trapped rodents.



This study is the first report on the presence of tularemia infection in rodents in Western Iran. Since Meriones persicus is a known reservoir for plague and tularemia, and this rodent carried plague and tularemia vectors in Marivan and Sanandaj districts, there is a real potential for the occurrence of these two diseases in this region.
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran .
Ehsan
E
Mostafavi
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran .
Abdolrazagh Hashemi
AH
Shahraki
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .
Alireza
A
Japoni-Nejad
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran .|3 Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran, Iran .
Saber
S
Esmaeili
4 Rodentology Research Department, Applied Animal Institute, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad , Mashhad, Iran .
Jamshid
J
Darvish
5 School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran .
Mohammad Mehdi
MM
Sedaghat
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|5 School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran .
Ali
A
Mohammadi
4 Rodentology Research Department, Applied Animal Institute, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad , Mashhad, Iran .
Zeinolabedin
Z
Mohammadi
4 Rodentology Research Department, Applied Animal Institute, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad , Mashhad, Iran .
Ahmad
A
Mahmoudi
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran .|6 Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran .
Behzad
B
Pourhossein
1 Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory of Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran .|2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran .|3 Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran, Iran .
Ahmad
A
Ghasemi
7 Institute for Veterinary Medical Research , Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary .
Miklós
M
Gyuranecz
8 Yersinia Research Unit, National Reference Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Center for Yersinia , Institut Pasteur, Paris, France .
Elisabeth
E
Carniel
D000818:Animals; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012377:Rodentia; D014406:Tularemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*
Francisella tularensis; Iran; Yersinia pestis; plague; rodent; tularemia