Yersinia pestis (formerly Pasteurella pestis) is a type of bacterium. It is believed to have been responsible for plagues of the early 1300s. More accurately, it is a Gram-negative rod-shaped coccobacillus. It is a facultative anaerobe that can infect humans and other animals. Human Y. pestis infection takes three main forms: pneumonic, septicemic, and bubonic plagues. All three forms are widely believed to have been responsible for a number of high-mortality epidemics throughout human history, including the Justinianic Plague of the sixth century and the Black Death that accounted for the death of at least one-third of the European population between 1347 and 1353. It has now been shown conclusively that these plagues originated in rodent populations in China. More recently, Y. pestis has gained attention as a possible biological warfare agent and the CDC has classified it as a category A pathogen requiring preparation for a possible terrorist attack. Every year, thousands of cases of plague are still reported to the World Health Organization, although, with proper treatment, the prognosis for victims is now much better. A five- to six-fold increase in cases occurred in Asia during the time of the Vietnam war, possibly due to the disruption of ecosystems and closer proximity between people and animals. Plague also has a detrimental effect on non-human mammals. In the United States of America, animals such as the black-tailed prairie dog and the endangered black-footed ferret are under threat from the disease.
Die Medikation von Personen nach Exposition oder zur Prophylaxe gegen hochpathogene Bakterien muss schnellstmöglich und effektiv erfolgen, wobei gemäß Empfehlungen Erreger-spezifische Antibiotika verabreicht werden. Bei B. anthracis sind dies Ciprofloxacin, Doxycyclin, Rifampin und Vancomycin; bei Yersinia pestis Ciprofloxacin, Tetracyclin, Streptomycin und Gentamicin. Da die Behandlung der infizierten Personen in der Regel im klinischen Alltag ohne vorherige Überprüfung der Resistenzeigenschaft des Erregers geschieht, wurde eine auf Microarray-Technology basierende Schnelldiagnostik entwickelt, die es ermöglicht innerhalb von 4 - 7 Stunden eine zuverlässige Aussage über vorhandene relevante genetische Resistenzdeterminanten zu treffen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden jeweils für Bacillus anthracis und Yersinia pestis ein Versuchsablauf entwickelt, der zunächst einen DNA-Anreicherungsschritt enthält, der mit einer auf den Erreger abgestimmten Multiplex-PCR realisiert wurde. Im weiteren Verlauf wird eine multiplexe enzymatisch-fluoreszente Markierungsreaktion angeschlossen und das erhaltene Produkt auf den entwickelten Microarrays hybridisiert. Mit diesen ist es nun möglich, sowohl klinisch relevante Resistenzgene nachzuweisen (tet(A-D); tet(K-O); vanA; vanB; aac3-Ia, -IIa, -IVa; ant3-Ia, -IIa; aph6''-Id; aph3''-Ib), als auch Resistent-vermittelnde Mutationen in den Genen gyrA, gyrB, parC bzw. rpoB. Die Evaluation der Microarrays wurde aus politischen und ethischen Gründen nicht mit resistenten B. anthracis oder Y. pestis – Stämmen durchgeführt. Die Microarrays konnten jedoch aufgrund der sehr nahen Verwandtschaft der beiden Organismen zur B. cereus ATCC10987 bzw. Y. pseudotuberculosis DSM8992 mit resistenten Isolaten dieser Spezies evaluiert werden. Dabei wurde sowohl die Detektion der Resistenzgene mit Misch-DNA resistenter Spezies simuliert, als auch die Bestimmung Resistenz-vermittelnden Punktmutationen mit zuvor isolierten und charakterisierten Mutanten geprüft. Im weiteren Verlauf wurden Kinetik und Reproduzierbarkeit der entwickelten Versuchsabläufe untersucht sowie eine Blind-Studie mit klinischen Yersinia enterocolitica Isolaten durchgeführt. ; The medication of persons after exposition or for prophylaxis against highly-pathogenic bacteria must take place as fast as possible and effectively. The following antibiotics are recommended: For B. anthracis are these Ciprofloxacin, Doxycyclin, Rifampin and Vancomycin; for Yersinia pestis Ciprofloxacin, Tetracyclin, Streptomycin and Gentamicin. Treatment of infected persons is usually realized in clinical diagnostic without previous examination of resistance of the infecting species. In front of this background an assay was developed based on microarray-technology, which enables the obtaining of reliable results of existing relevant genetic resistance determinants within 4 - 7 hours. Two separate assays for Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis were developed, which harbour a DNA enrichment-step, -realized by a multiplex PCR compatible with the examined species-, subsequently a multiplex enzymatic fluorescent labelling and hybridization using the developed diagnostic microarrays. Using these microarrays it is possible to detect clinically relevant resistance genes (tet (A-D); tet (K-O); vanA; vanB; aac3-Ia, - IIa, - IVa; ant3-Ia, - IIa; aph6'' - Id; aph3'' - Ib) and resistance-mediating point-mutations in genes gyrA, gyrB, parC and/or rpoB in one single step. Because of political and ethical reasons evaluation of the microarrays was not performed using resistant B. anthracis- or Y. pestis - isolates. The microarrays could be evaluated because of a strong relationship of these two organisms to the non-highly-pathogenic organisms B. cereus ATCC10987 and Y. pseudotuberculosis DSM8992. The detection of both, resistance genes and resistance-obtaining point mutations, was performed using in this study isolated and well characterized mutants or mixture-DNA of resistant species. In further process kinetics and reproducibility of the developed assay were investigated as well as a blind panel was performed using clinical Yersinia enterocolitica-isolates.
Modern "molecular genetic (MG) phylogenies" of the plague microbe Yersinia pestis, built on models of neutral evolution using statistical methods of phylogenetic analysis, contradict numerous obvious environmental (ECO) patterns and are not consistent with the concept of adaptatiogenesis. The reason for the discrepancy between MG and ECO phylogenies is seen in the underestimation by the MG approach of parallelisms in the processes of speciation and intraspecific diversification of the plague microbe. ECO methods showed the parallel tritope (almost) simultaneous speciation of three primary genovariants (populations, subspecies) Y. pestis 2.ANT3, 3.ANT2 and 4.ANT1 in three geographical populations of the Mongolian marmot (Marmota sibirica), which in the MG approach is mistaken for polytomy ("Big Bang"), caused by unknown natural phenomena on the eve of the first pandemic (Justinian's plague, 6th-8th centuries AD). The discrepancy between MG and ECO interpretations of the evolution of intraspecifically-derived phylogenetic sub-branches 0.PE and 2.MED is also associated with parallel evolutionary processes in independent lines, based on genovariants 2.ANT3, 3.ANT2 and 4.ANT1. Independence of these phylogenetic lines and associated with them parallelisms of sub-branches 0.PE and 2.MED are not taken into account in the MG approach. The prospect of creating a real phylogenetic tree for Y. pestis depends on a creative synthesis of the two approaches – MG and ECO.
International audience ; Little is known about the presence/absence and prevalence of Rickettsia spp, Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis in domestic and urban flea populations in tropical and subtropical African countries.Methodology/Principal findings: Fleas collected in Benin, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were investigated for the presence and identity of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis using two qPCR systems or qPCR and standard PCR. In Xenopsylla cheopis fleas collected from Cotonou (Benin), Rickettsia typhi was detected in 1% (2/199), and an uncultured Bartonella sp. was detected in 34.7% (69/199). In the Lushoto district (United Republic of Tanzania), R. typhi DNA was detected in 10% (2/20) of Xenopsylla brasiliensis, and Rickettsia felis was detected in 65% (13/20) of Ctenocephalides felis strongylus, 71.4% (5/7) of Ctenocephalides canis and 25% (5/20) of Ctenophthalmus calceatus calceatus. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, R. felis was detected in 56.5% (13/23) of Ct. f. felis from Kinshasa, in 26.3% (10/38) of Ct. f. felis and 9% (1/11) of Leptopsylla aethiopica aethiopica from Ituri district and in 19.2% (5/ 26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 4.7% (1/21) of Echidnophaga gallinacea. Bartonella sp. was also detected in 36.3% (4/11) of L. a. aethiopica. Finally, in Ituri, Y. pestis DNA was detected in 3.8% (1/26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 10% (3/30) of Pulex irritans from the villages of Wanyale and Zaa.Conclusion: Most flea-borne infections are neglected diseases which should be monitored systematically in domestic rural and urban human populations to assess their epidemiological and clinical relevance. Finally, the presence of Y. pestis DNA in fleas captured in households was unexpected and raises a series of questions regarding the role of free fleas in the transmission of plague in rural Africa, especially in remote areas where the flea density in houses is high.
International audience ; Little is known about the presence/absence and prevalence of Rickettsia spp, Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis in domestic and urban flea populations in tropical and subtropical African countries.Methodology/Principal findings: Fleas collected in Benin, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were investigated for the presence and identity of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis using two qPCR systems or qPCR and standard PCR. In Xenopsylla cheopis fleas collected from Cotonou (Benin), Rickettsia typhi was detected in 1% (2/199), and an uncultured Bartonella sp. was detected in 34.7% (69/199). In the Lushoto district (United Republic of Tanzania), R. typhi DNA was detected in 10% (2/20) of Xenopsylla brasiliensis, and Rickettsia felis was detected in 65% (13/20) of Ctenocephalides felis strongylus, 71.4% (5/7) of Ctenocephalides canis and 25% (5/20) of Ctenophthalmus calceatus calceatus. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, R. felis was detected in 56.5% (13/23) of Ct. f. felis from Kinshasa, in 26.3% (10/38) of Ct. f. felis and 9% (1/11) of Leptopsylla aethiopica aethiopica from Ituri district and in 19.2% (5/ 26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 4.7% (1/21) of Echidnophaga gallinacea. Bartonella sp. was also detected in 36.3% (4/11) of L. a. aethiopica. Finally, in Ituri, Y. pestis DNA was detected in 3.8% (1/26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 10% (3/30) of Pulex irritans from the villages of Wanyale and Zaa.Conclusion: Most flea-borne infections are neglected diseases which should be monitored systematically in domestic rural and urban human populations to assess their epidemiological and clinical relevance. Finally, the presence of Y. pestis DNA in fleas captured in households was unexpected and raises a series of questions regarding the role of free fleas in the transmission of plague in rural Africa, especially in remote areas where the flea density in houses is high.
The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases—specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively—that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondrial clades: A, B, and C. Here, we describe a fourth mitochondrial clade, Clade D, comprising head and body lice. Clade D may be a vector of B. quintana and Y. pestis, which is prevalent in a highly plague-endemic area near the Rethy Health District, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis are biological agents that pose an increasing concern to national security if deliberately disseminated. Hoax agents, including suspicious white powders and environmental bacterial species, can also cause disruption. In either scenario it is of high importance to rapidly and accurately identify any suspicious powder as hazardous or hoax. Protein profiling, using microfluidic capillary electrophoresis, provides a rapid (less than 40 minutes), reliable and field-based screening method. ; This work was supported by the Australian Commonwealth Government [Endeavour Fellowship]
Numerous historical works have mentioned that trade routes were to blame for the spread of plague in European history, yet this relationship has never been tested by quantitative evidence. Here, we resolve the hypothetical role of trade routes through statistical analysis on the geo-referenced major trade routes in the early modern period and the 6,656 geo-referenced plague outbreak records in AD1347-1760. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation results show that major trade routes played a dominant role in spreading plague in pre-industrial Europe. Furthermore, the negative correlation between plague outbreaks and their distance from major trade ports indicates the absence of a permanent plague focus in the inland areas of Europe. Major trade routes decided the major plague outbreak hotspots, while navigable rivers determined the geographic pattern of sporadic plague cases. A case study in Germany indicates that plague penetrated further into Europe through the local trade route network. Based on our findings, we propose the mechanism of plague transmission in historical Europe, which is imperative in demonstrating how pandemics were spread in recent human history. ; Hui Oi-Chow Trust Fund [201502172003, 201602172006]; Research Grants Council of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China [HKU745113H, 17610715] ; This research was supported by the Hui Oi-Chow Trust Fund (201502172003 and 201602172006) and Research Grants Council of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKU745113H and 17610715).
This ground-breaking book brings together scholars from the humanities and social and physical sciences to address the question of how recent work in the genetics, zoology, and epidemiology of plague's causative organism (Yersinia pestis) can allow a rethinking of the Black Death pandemic and its larger historical significance.
Plague in man occurred from 1968 to 1970 in mountain villages of the Boyolali Regency in Central Java. Infected fleas, infected rats, and seropositive rats were collected in villages with human plague cases. Subsequent isolations of Yersinia pestis and seropositive rodents, detected during investigations of rodent plague undertaken by the Government of Indonesia and the WHO, attested to the persistence of plague in the region from 1972 to 1974.
