Human plague: An old scourge that needs new answers

Vallès, Xavier; Stenseth, Nils Chr.; Demeure, Christian E.; Horby, Peter; Mead, Paul S.; Cabanillas, Oswaldo; Ratsitorahina, M.; Rajerison, Minoarisoa; Andrianaivoarimanana, Voahangy; Ramasindrazana, Beza; Pizarro‐Cerdá, Javier; Scholz, Holger C.; Girod, Romain; Hinnebusch, B. Joseph; Vigan-Womas, Inès; Fontanet, Arnaud; Wagner, David M.; Telfer, Sandra; Yazdanpanah, Yazdan; Tortosa, Pablo; Carrara, Guia; Deuve, Jane Lynda; Belmain, Steven R.; D’Ortenzio, Éric; Baril, Laurence

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008251

Cited by 62 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…62 Recent scientific research has demonstrated that it is naturally, even fundamentally, part of lacustrine and coastal marine ecosystems; the bacteria "are marine organisms with permanent niches all over the world," with accompanying endemicity. 63 53 Cohn (2008); Belich (2016); Byrne (2012); Valles et al (2020); Green (2014); Cantor (2001). 54 Hirst (1953); Appleby (1980); Slack (1981); Antoine (2008) 56 For example, Slack (1981); Frandsen (2010).…”

Section: Perspectives and Endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How epidemics end

Charters

Heitman²

2021

Centaurus

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As COVID‐19 drags on and new vaccines promise widespread immunity, the world's attention has turned to predicting how the present pandemic will end. How do societies know when an epidemic is over and normal life can resume? What criteria and markers indicate such an end? Who has the insight, authority, and credibility to decipher these signs? Detailed research on past epidemics has demonstrated that they do not end suddenly; indeed, only rarely do the diseases in question actually end. This article examines the ways in which scholars have identified and described the end stages of previous epidemics, pointing out that significantly less attention has been paid to these periods than to origins and climaxes. Analysis of the ends of epidemics illustrates that epidemics are as much social, political, and economic events as they are biological; the “end,” therefore, is as much a process of social and political negotiation as it is biomedical. Equally important, epidemics end at different times for different groups, both within one society and across regions. Multidisciplinary research into how epidemics end reveals how the end of an epidemic shifts according to perspective, whether temporal, geographic, or methodological. A multidisciplinary analysis of how epidemics end suggests that epidemics should therefore be framed not as linear narratives—from outbreak to intervention to termination—but within cycles of disease and with a multiplicity of endings.

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Section: Perspectives and Endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…57 Guellil et al (2020). 58 Varlık (2019); Cohn (2008); Shakow (2010); Valles et al (2020). 59 Varlık (2020aVarlık ( , 2020b.…”

Section: Perspectives and Endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How epidemics end

Charters

Heitman²

2021

Centaurus

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“…Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of the plague. It is a zoonotic disease that affects rodents and can be transmitted from animal to animal by fleas, which happens to be the most common mode of transmission to humans [53]. When bitten by a Y. pestis infected flea, humans develop swollen lymph nodes, or buboes, that can develop into septicemia or occasionally into pneumonia.…”

Section: Plaguementioning

confidence: 99%

The State of the Art in Biodefense Related Bacterial Pathogen Detection Using Bacteriophages: How It Started and How It’s Going

Sozhamannan

Hofmann

2020

Viruses

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Accurate pathogen detection and diagnosis is paramount in clinical success of treating patients. There are two general paradigms in pathogen detection: molecular and immuno-based, and phage-based detection is a third emerging paradigm due to its sensitivity and selectivity. Molecular detection methods look for genetic material specific for a given pathogen in a sample usually by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Immuno-methods look at the pathogen components (antigens) by antibodies raised against that pathogen specific antigens. There are different variations and products based on these two paradigms with advantages and disadvantages. The third paradigm at least for bacterial pathogen detection entails bacteriophages specific for a given bacterium. Sensitivity and specificity are the two key parameters in any pathogen detection system. By their very nature, bacteriophages afford the best sensitivity for bacterial detection. Bacteria and bacteriophages form the predator-prey pair in the evolutionary arms race and has coevolved over time to acquire the exquisite specificity of the pair, in some instances at the strain level. This specificity has been exploited for diagnostic purposes of various pathogens of concern in clinical and other settings. Many recent reviews focus on phage-based detection and sensor technologies. In this review, we focus on a very special group of pathogens that are of concern in biodefense because of their potential misuse in bioterrorism and their extremely virulent nature and as such fall under the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) Category A pathogen list. We describe the currently available phage methods that are based on the usual modalities of detection from culture, to molecular and immuno- and fluorescent methods. We further highlight the gaps and the needs for more modern technologies and sensors drawing from technologies existing for detection and surveillance of other pathogens of clinical relevance.

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“…Diseases that circulate between rodents, arthropods and humans include the plague where the causative bacterium Yersinia pestis can be transferred from rodents to humans by flea species 15 . Plague is prevalent in several rodent species on several continents 16,17 . Among other zoonotic flea‐transmitted pathogens are Rickettsia species that cause spotted fever in humans 18,19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15 Plague is prevalent in several rodent species on several continents. 16,17 Among other zoonotic flea-transmitted pathogens are Rickettsia species that cause spotted fever in humans. 18,19 Several tick species transmit the pathogen Borrelia spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of a combined insecticide–rodenticide product on ectoparasite and commensal rodent mortality

Hinds

Grice

Watson³

et al. 2020

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND Ectoparasites may transfer zoonotic pathogens from rodents to humans or livestock when rodents are managed with rodenticides. This could be minimized using a product combining a rodenticide with a delayed action and a systemic insecticide/acaricide that rapidly kills ectoparasites. Such a combination was tested in commensal pest rodent species to assess efficacy and timing of responses in rodents, and fleas and ticks feeding on them. Ticks or fleas attached to rats (Rattus norvegicus) and house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) were exposed to a product containing brodifacoum (50 ppm) and fipronil (40 ppm) for three days. RESULTS 98–100% of fleas on treated rodents died within one to two days after first exposure, whereas >90% fleas survived on control rodents. The effect persisted for four or more days after bait uptake. Ticks started to succumb to the effect of the combination product within one day (mice) and within four days (rats) of first exposure, with all ticks dying by Day (D)8. Tick survival in control rodents was 90–100%. Rodent mortality began at D3 (rats) and D4 (mice) after first consumption of product and all were dead by D9 (rats) and D7 (mice). CONCLUSION This product effectively killed ectoparasites and rodents. Flea mortality was swift and complete, generally within one day of exposure, whereas it took ticks up to four days to die, but before the rats and house mice died. The combination product might help to prevent ectoparasites migrating from dying rodents to another host. Field trials are warranted. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

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Human plague: An old scourge that needs new answers

Cited by 62 publications

References 106 publications

How epidemics end

How epidemics end

The State of the Art in Biodefense Related Bacterial Pathogen Detection Using Bacteriophages: How It Started and How It’s Going

Efficacy of a combined insecticide–rodenticide product on ectoparasite and commensal rodent mortality

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