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Transmission efficiency of the plague pathogen (Y. pestis) by the flea, Xenopsylla skrjabini, to mice and great gerbils

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, May 2015
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Title
Transmission efficiency of the plague pathogen (Y. pestis) by the flea, Xenopsylla skrjabini, to mice and great gerbils
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, May 2015
DOI 10.1186/s13071-015-0852-z
Pubmed ID
Authors

Yujiang Zhang, Xiang Dai, Qiguo Wang, Hongjian Chen, Weiwei Meng, Kemei Wu, Tao Luo, Xinhui Wang, Azhati Rehemu, Rong Guo, Xiaotao Yu, Ruifu Yang, Hanli Cao, Yajun Song

Abstract

Plague, a zoonotic disease caused by Yersinia pestis, is characterized by its ability to persist in the plague natural foci. Junggar Basin plague focus was recently identified in China, with Rhombomys opimus (great gerbils) and Xenopsylla skrjabini as the main reservoir and vector for plague. No transmission efficiency data of X. skrjabini for Y. pestis is available till now. In this study, we estimated the median infectious dose (ID50) and the blockage rates of X. skrjabini with Y. pestis, by using artificial feeders. We then evaluated the flea transmission ability of Y. pestis to the mice and great gerbils via artificial bloodmeal feeding. Finally, we investigated the transmission of Y. pestis to mice with fleas fed by infected great gerbils. ID50 of Y. pestis to X. skrjabini was estimated as 2.04 × 10(5) CFU (95% CI, 1.45 × 10(5) - 3.18 × 10(5) CFU), around 40 times higher than that of X. cheopis. Although fleas fed by higher bacteremia bloodmeal had higher infection rates for Y. pestis, they lived significantly shorter than their counterparts. X. skrjabini could get fully blocked as early as day 3 post of infection (7.1%, 3/42 fleas), and the overall blockage rate of X. cheopis was estimated as 14.9% (82/550 fleas) during the 14 days of investigation. For the fleas infected by artificial feeders, they seemed to transmit plague more efficiently to great gerbils than mice. Our single flea transmission experiments also revealed that, the transmission capacity of naturally infected fleas (fed by infected great gerbils) was significantly higher than that of artificially infected ones (fed by artificial feeders). Our results indicated that ID50 of Y. pestis to X. skrjabini was higher than other fleas like X. cheopis, and its transmission efficiency to mice might be lower than other flea vectors in the artificial feeding modes. We also found different transmission potentials in the artificially infected fleas and the naturally infected ones. Further studies are needed to figure out the role of X. skrjabini in the plague epidemiological cycles in Junggar Basin plague focus.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 25 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Madagascar 1 4%
Unknown 24 96%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 5 20%
Student > Bachelor 5 20%
Researcher 3 12%
Student > Postgraduate 2 8%
Other 1 4%
Other 4 16%
Unknown 5 20%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 5 20%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 4 16%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4 16%
Arts and Humanities 2 8%
Unspecified 1 4%
Other 4 16%
Unknown 5 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 May 2015.
All research outputs
#15,331,767
of 22,803,211 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#3,383
of 5,461 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#157,001
of 264,364 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#71
of 133 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,803,211 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,461 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one is in the 30th percentile – i.e., 30% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 264,364 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 133 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.