Reemergence of human plague in Yunnan, China in 2016

Abstract

The third plague pandemic originated from Yunnan Province, China in the middle of the 19th century. The last human plague epidemic in Yunnan occurred from 1986–2005. On June 6, 2016, a case of human plague was reported in the Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan. The patient suffered from primary septicemic plague after exposure to a dead house rat (Rattus flavipectus), which has been identified as the main plague reservoir in the local epizootic area. Moreover, a retrospective investigation identified another bubonic plague case in this area. Based on these data, human plague reemerged after a silent period of ten years. In this study, three molecular typing methods, including a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) analysis, different region analysis (DFR), and multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA), were used to illustrate the molecular characteristics of Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) strains isolated in Yunnan. The DFR profiles of the strains isolated in Yunnan in 2016 were the same as the strains that had previously been isolated in this Rattus flavipectus plague focus. The c3 spacer present in the previously isolated strains was absent in the spacer arrays of the Ypc CRISPR loci of the strains isolated in 2016. The MLVA analysis using MLVA (14+12) showed that the strains isolated from the human plague case and host animal plague infection in 2016 in Yunnan displayed different molecular patterns than the strains that had previously been isolated from Yunnan and adjacent provinces.

Composition of gut and oropharynx bacterial communities in Rattus norvegicus and Suncus murinus in China

“…Yersinia pestis (which causes plague disease) is usually found in wild rodents and Asian house shrews and can be transmitted by the bite of infected fleas [ 3 ]. In China, the re-emergence of human plague has been reported [ 31 ]. After infection, Y. pestis spreads to the bloodstream and disseminates to the spleen, liver and other organs [ 32 ].…”

History of the Plague: An Ancient Pandemic for the Age of COVID-19

“…20 Although few European cases of the plague were reported after 1950, isolated outbreaks still occur worldwide. 4,20 It is estimated that more than 200 million people have died from the plague throughout human history. 10…”

“…[1][2][3] An ancient disease, its bacterial agent (Yersinia pestis) still causes periodic outbreaks and remains endemic in some parts of the world. [4][5][6] Additionally, because it could be weaponized for world bioterrorism, understanding its clinical syndromes, epidemiology, and treatment options remains critical for medical practitioners. 5,6 Finally, recent molecular discoveries linking recessive familial Mediterranean fever mutations to plague immunity have revolutionized how scientists and historians alike view this novel evolutionary adaptation.…”

Crystal structure of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase fromYersinia pestis, a potential therapeutic target against plague

“…The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is the etiologic agent of plague, one of the most fatal diseases in recorded human history (Butler, 2014). Although clinical cases of plague are relatively uncommon today, re-emerging infections have been reported in areas of Asia, Africa and even the United States (Dai et al, 2018;Grá cio & Grá cio, 2017;Shi et al, 2018;Rahelinirina et al, 2017;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994). Even with the low rate of clinical cases of plague, the main concern with Y. pestis as an infectious agent continues to be its classification as a high-threat category A bioterrorism agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Darling et al, 2002;Inglesby et al, 2000;Weant et al, 2014).…”