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BMC Veterinary Research Oct 2023Zoonotic diseases are like a sneaky game of "tag" between animals and humans, where the stakes are high and the consequences can be deadly. From the bubonic plague to...
Zoonotic diseases are like a sneaky game of "tag" between animals and humans, where the stakes are high and the consequences can be deadly. From the bubonic plague to COVID-19, zoonotic diseases have affected humanity for centuries, reminding us of our interconnectedness with the animal kingdom and the importance of taking proactive measures to prevent their spread. Whether it is avoiding contact with animals or practicing good hygiene, staying safe from zoonotic diseases is a game we all need to play.
Topics: Humans; Animals; COVID-19; Zoonoses; Plague
PubMed: 37789313
DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03736-8 -
La Revue de Medecine Interne Nov 2018Plague is a bacterial zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis, usually found in fleas and small rodents that constitute the reservoir of the disease. It is transmitted to... (Review)
Review
Plague is a bacterial zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis, usually found in fleas and small rodents that constitute the reservoir of the disease. It is transmitted to humans by flea bite, contact with rodents or inhalation of infected droplets. There are three clinical forms: bubonic plague, pulmonary plague and septicemic plague. The usual presentation is a flu-like syndrome possibly accompanied by an inflammatory lymphadenopathy which appears after 1 to 7days of incubation. Bubonic plague has a case fatality rate of about 50% while other forms of plague are almost always fatal without treatment. Diagnosis can be confirmed by usual bacteriological techniques (Gram examination, culture) but also by serological examination, use of rapid diagnostic tests or PCR. Although aminoglycosides are traditionally regarded as the most effective treatment, fluoroquinolones or cyclins are currently recommended in France. Plague is one of the re-emerging diseases according to the WHO and Madagascar suffered in 2017 the most important plague epidemic of the 21st century with more than 2000 cases and 200 deaths. Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also considered endemic areas. Public health measures and a relentless fight against poverty are the cornerstone of the control of the disease. Vaccine improvement in endemic areas may also play an important role.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; France; Humans; Plague; Siphonaptera; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 29628173
DOI: 10.1016/j.revmed.2018.03.019 -
Trends in Microbiology Mar 2016Inhalation of the bacterium Yersinia pestis results in primary pneumonic plague. Pneumonic plague is the most severe manifestation of plague, with mortality rates... (Review)
Review
Inhalation of the bacterium Yersinia pestis results in primary pneumonic plague. Pneumonic plague is the most severe manifestation of plague, with mortality rates approaching 100% in the absence of treatment. Its rapid disease progression, lethality, and ability to be transmitted via aerosol have compounded fears of the intentional release of Y. pestis as a biological weapon. Importantly, recent epidemics of plague have highlighted a significant role for pneumonic plague during outbreaks of Y. pestis infections. In this review we describe the characteristics of pneumonic plague, focusing on its disease progression and pathogenesis. The rapid time-course, severity, and difficulty of treating pneumonic plague highlight how differences in the route of disease transmission can enhance the lethality of an already deadly pathogen.
Topics: Animals; Biological Warfare Agents; Disease Progression; Humans; Lung; Plague; Virulence; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 26698952
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.11.008 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Apr 2019Plague has a long history on the European continent, with evidence of the disease dating back to the Stone Age. Plague epidemics in Europe during the First and Second...
Plague has a long history on the European continent, with evidence of the disease dating back to the Stone Age. Plague epidemics in Europe during the First and Second Pandemics, including the Black Death, are infamous for their widespread mortality and lasting social and economic impact. Yet, Europe still experienced plague outbreaks during the Third Pandemic, which began in China and spread globally at the end of the nineteenth century. The digitization of international records of notifiable diseases, including plague, has enabled us to retrace the introductions of the disease to Europe from the earliest reported cases in 1899, to its disappearance in the 1940s. Using supplemental literature, we summarize the potential sources of plague in Europe and the transmission of the disease, including the role of rats. Finally, we discuss the international efforts aimed at prevention and intervention measures, namely improved hygiene and sanitation, that ultimately led to the disappearance of plague in Europe.
Topics: Animals; Disease Vectors; Europe; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Pandemics; Plague; Rats; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 30991930
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2429 -
BioMed Research International 2017Plague, in the Middle Ages known as Black Death, continues to occur at permanent foci in many countries, in Africa, Asia, South America, and even the USA. During the... (Review)
Review
Plague, in the Middle Ages known as Black Death, continues to occur at permanent foci in many countries, in Africa, Asia, South America, and even the USA. During the last years outbreaks were reported from at least 3 geographical areas, in all cases after tens of years without reported cases. The recent human plague outbreaks in Libya and Algeria suggest that climatic and other environmental changes in Northern Africa may be favourable for epidemiologic cycle. If so, other Northern Africa countries with plague foci also may be at risk for outbreaks in the near future. It is important to remember that the danger of plague reoccurrence is not limited to the known natural foci, for example, those of Algeria, Angola, and Madagascar. In a general context, it is important that governments know the dangerous impact that this disease may have and that the health and medical community be familiar with the epidemiology, symptoms, treatment, and control of plague, so an appropriated and timely response can be delivered should the worst case happen. Plague can be used as a potential agent of bioterrorism. We have concluded that plague is without a doubt a reemerging infectious disease.
Topics: Africa; Africa, Northern; Algeria; Asia; Disease Outbreaks; Humans; Libya; Madagascar; Plague; South America; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 28904964
DOI: 10.1155/2017/5696542 -
The Lancet. Infectious Diseases Dec 2017
Topics: Animals; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Vectors; Humans; Madagascar; Plague; Rats; Siphonaptera; Survival Analysis; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 29173885
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30647-3 -
Microbiology Spectrum Dec 2015Historically, the rat has been considered a scourge to mankind, for example, rats infected with the plague bacillus that caused the Black Death, which accounted for... (Review)
Review
Historically, the rat has been considered a scourge to mankind, for example, rats infected with the plague bacillus that caused the Black Death, which accounted for millions of deaths in Europe during the Middle Ages. At least three pandemics (in the 5th and 6th, 8th through 14th, and 19th through 21st centuries) of plague ravaged civilizations, and the disease undoubtedly plagued humankind prior to recorded history. Also, numerous other diseases are spread to humans by rats; thus, a quote from Hans Zinsser's text Rats, Lice, and History, "Man and rat will always be pitted against each other as implacable enemies," conveys the general revulsion that society holds for the wild rat.
Topics: Animals; Europe; History, 15th Century; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; History, Ancient; History, Medieval; Humans; Plague; Rats; Yersinia pestis; Zoonoses
PubMed: 27337284
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.IOL5-0015-2015 -
The American Journal of Tropical... May 2021Plague, a fleaborne rodent-associated zoonosis, is a neglected disease with most recent cases reported from east and central Africa and Madagascar. Because of its low... (Review)
Review
Plague, a fleaborne rodent-associated zoonosis, is a neglected disease with most recent cases reported from east and central Africa and Madagascar. Because of its low incidence and sporadic occurrence, most of our knowledge of plague ecology, prevention, and control derives from investigations conducted in response to human cases. Long-term studies (which are uncommon) are required to generate data to support plague surveillance, prevention, and control recommendations. Here we describe a 15-year, multidisciplinary commitment to plague in the West Nile region of Uganda that led to significant advances in our understanding of where and when persons are at risk for plague infection and how to reduce morbidity and mortality. These findings provide data-driven support for several existing recommendations on plague surveillance and prevention and may be generalizable to other plague foci.
Topics: Ecology; Epidemiological Monitoring; Humans; Incidence; Longitudinal Studies; Plague; Primary Prevention; Risk Factors; Uganda; Yersinia pestis
PubMed: 33939638
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1381 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Oct 2016As a zoonosis, Plague is also an ecological entity, a complex system of ecological interactions between the pathogen, the hosts, and the spatiotemporal variations of its... (Review)
Review
As a zoonosis, Plague is also an ecological entity, a complex system of ecological interactions between the pathogen, the hosts, and the spatiotemporal variations of its ecosystems. Five reservoir system models have been proposed: (i) assemblages of small mammals with different levels of susceptibility and roles in the maintenance and amplification of the cycle; (ii) species-specific chronic infection models; (ii) flea vectors as the true reservoirs; (iii) Telluric Plague, and (iv) a metapopulation arrangement for species with a discrete spatial organization, following a source-sink dynamic of extinction and recolonization with naïve potential hosts. The diversity of the community that harbors the reservoir system affects the transmission cycle by predation, competition, and dilution effect. Plague has notable environmental constraints, depending on altitude (500+ meters), warm and dry climates, and conditions for high productivity events for expansion of the transmission cycle. Human impacts are altering Plague dynamics by altering landscape and the faunal composition of the foci and adjacent areas, usually increasing the presence and number of human cases and outbreaks. Climatic change is also affecting the range of its occurrence. In the current transitional state of zoonosis as a whole, Plague is at risk of becoming a public health problem in poor countries where ecosystem erosion, anthropic invasion of new areas, and climate change increase the contact of the population with reservoir systems, giving new urgency for ecologic research that further details its maintenance in the wild, the spillover events, and how it links to human cases.
Topics: Animals; Climate Change; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Reservoirs; Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; Humans; Models, Biological; Plague; Public Health; Seasons; Siphonaptera; Species Specificity; Yersinia pestis; Zoonoses
PubMed: 27711205
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004949 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022The Altun Mountains are among the most active regions of plague foci of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where animal plague is prevalent, whereas only three human cases have...
The Altun Mountains are among the most active regions of plague foci of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where animal plague is prevalent, whereas only three human cases have been found since 1960. Animal husbandry is the main income for the local economy; brucellosis appears sometimes in animals and less often in humans. In this study, a retrospective investigation of plague and brucellosis seroprevalence among humans and animals was conducted to improve prevention and control measures for the two diseases. Animal and human sera were collected for routine surveillance from 2018 to 2021 and screened for plague and brucellosis. F1 antibody was preliminarily screened by the colloidal gold method at the monitoring site to identify previous infections with positive serology. Previous plague infection was found in 3.2% (14/432) of the studied human population having close contact with livestock, which indicates evidence of exposure to the antigen (dead or live pathogenic materials) in the Altun Mountains. Seroprevalence of brucellosis was higher in camels (6.2%) and sheepdogs (1.8%) than in other livestock such as cattle and sheep, suggesting a possible transmission route from secondary host animals to humans.
Topics: Cattle; Humans; Animals; Sheep; Marmota; Plague; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Retrospective Studies; Tibet; Brucellosis
PubMed: 36466443
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.990218