Yersinia pestis as a telluric, human ectoparasite-borne organism

The classic epidemiological model of plague is an infection of rodents that is transmitted to human beings by rodent ectoparasites. This model fits with observations of sporadic and limited outbreaks, but hardly explains the persistence of plague foci for millennia or the epidemiological features dr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet infectious diseases 2006-04, Vol.6 (4), p.234-241
Main Authors: Drancourt, Michel, Houhamdi, Linda, Raoult, Didier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Bioterrorism
Disease Outbreaks
Disease Reservoirs
Disease Vectors
Ectoparasites
Ectoparasitic Infestations - complications
Global Health
Health policy
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Pandemics
Phthiraptera
Plague
Plague - epidemiology
Plague - etiology
Plague - transmission
Public health
Risk management
Rodentia
Rodents
Siphonaptera
Soil Microbiology
Tropical bacterial diseases
Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis - isolation & purification
Yersinia pestis - pathogenicity
Zoonoses
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Summary:The classic epidemiological model of plague is an infection of rodents that is transmitted to human beings by rodent ectoparasites. This model fits with observations of sporadic and limited outbreaks, but hardly explains the persistence of plague foci for millennia or the epidemiological features drawn from the descriptions of historical pandemics. A comprehensive review of the published data, including scientific papers published in France between 1920 and 1940, allows the completion of the epidemiological chain by introducing soil as a reservoir, burrowing rodents as a first link, and human ectoparasites as the main driving force for pandemics. Modern studies are needed to confirm the validity of this controversial model and to assess the relative contribution of each link in the various epidemiological presentations of plague. If confirmed, these data should be taken into account to update public-health policies and bioterrorism risk management, particularly among ectoparasite-infested people.
ISSN:1473-3099
1474-4457
DOI:10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70438-8