Abstract
Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, triggers die-offs in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), but the time-frame of plague activity is not well understood. We document plague activity in fleas from prairie dogs and their burrows on three prairie dog colonies that suffered die-offs. We demonstrate that Y. pestis transmission occurs over periods from several months to over a year in prairie dog populations before observed die-offs.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Colorado / epidemiology
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Disease Outbreaks / veterinary*
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Host-Parasite Interactions
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Incidence
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Insect Vectors / microbiology
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Plague / epidemiology*
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Plague / microbiology
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Plague / veterinary*
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Prevalence
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Rodent Diseases / epidemiology*
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Rodent Diseases / mortality
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Rodent Diseases / transmission
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Sciuridae / microbiology*
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Sciuridae / parasitology*
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Siphonaptera / microbiology
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Survival Rate
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Time Factors
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Yersinia pestis / isolation & purification*
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Yersinia pestis / pathogenicity