PCR detection of Yersinia pestis in fleas: comparison with mouse inoculation.
نویسندگان
چکیده
The "gold standard" for identifying Yersinia pestis-infected fleas has been inoculation of mice with pooled flea material. Inoculated mice are monitored for 21 days, and those that die are further analyzed for Y. pestis infection by fluorescent-antibody assay and/or culture. PCR may provide a more rapid and sensitive alternative for identifying Y. pestis in fleas. To compare these assays, samples were prepared from 381 field-collected fleas. Each flea was analyzed individually by both PCR and mouse inoculation. Sixty of the 381 flea samples were positive for Y. pestis by PCR; 48 of these PCR-positive samples caused death in mice (80.0% agreement). None of the 321 PCR-negative samples caused death. Among the 12 mice that survived inoculation with PCR-positive samples, 10 were later demonstrated by serology or culture to have been infected with Y. pestis. This suggests that death of inoculated mice is less reliable than PCR as an indicator of the presence of Y. pestis in flea samples. Mouse inoculation assays produce results that are comparable to PCR only when surviving as well as dead mice are analyzed for infection. The rapidity and sensitivity (10 to 100 CFU of Y. pestis) of PCR suggest that it could serve as a useful alternative to mouse inoculation for routine plague surveillance and outbreak investigations.
منابع مشابه
Simplified method for gene targeting vector construction.
1.Engelthaler, D.M., K.L. Gage, J.A. Montenieri, M. Chu, and L.G. Carter. 1999. PCR detection of Yersinia pestis in fleas: comparison with mouse inoculation. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37:1980-1984. 2.Stevenson, H.L., Y. Bai, M.Y. Kosoy, J.A. Montenieri, J.L. Lowell, M.C. Chu, and K.L. Gage. 2003. Detection of novel Bartonella strains and Yersinia pestis in prairie dogs and their fleas (Siphonaptera: ...
متن کاملZoonotic Focus of Plague, Algeria
After an outbreak of human plague, 95 Xenopsylla cheopis fleas from Algeria were tested for Yersinia pestis with PCR methods. Nine fleas were definitively confirmed to be infected with Y. pestis biovar orientalis. Our results demonstrate the persistence of a zoonotic focus of Y. pestis in Algeria.
متن کاملBurrowing Owls, Pulex irritans, and Plague.
Western Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) are small, ground-dwelling owls of western North America that frequent prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) towns and other grasslands. Because they rely on rodent prey and occupy burrows once or concurrently inhabited by fossorial mammals, the owls often harbor fleas. We examined the potential role of fleas found on burrowing owls in plague dynamics b...
متن کاملMolecular detection and analysis of Y. pestis
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to detect Y. pestis in infected fleas, soil samples, and clinical samples for rapid diagnosis of plague. PCR-gradient density electrophoresis (PCR-GDE) has allowed the distinction between the three pathogenic Yersinia species utilizing the rpoB gene. The application of the PCR to dental samples has allowed the confirmation of Y. pestis as the ca...
متن کاملSimple and Rapid Detection of Yersinia Pestis and Francisella Tularensis using Multiplex-PCR
Background: Yersinia pestis and Francisella tularensis cause plague and tularemia, which are known as diseases of the newborn and elderly, respectively. Immunological and culture-based detection methods of these bacteria are time-consuming, costly, complicated and require advanced equipment. We aimed to design and synthesize a gene structure as positive control for molecular detection of these ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of clinical microbiology
دوره 37 6 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1999