Plague and the human flea, Tanzania.
Emerg Infect Dis
; 13(5): 687-93, 2007 May.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17553245
ABSTRACT
Domestic fleas were collected in 12 villages in the western Usambara Mountains in Tanzania. Of these, 7 are considered villages with high plague frequency, where human plague was recorded during at least 6 of the 17 plague seasons between 1986 and 2004. In the remaining 5 villages with low plague frequency, plague was either rare or unrecorded. Pulex irritans, known as the human flea, was the predominant flea species (72.4%) in houses. The density of P. irritans, but not of other domestic fleas, was significantly higher in villages with a higher plague frequency or incidence. Moreover, the P. irritans index was strongly positively correlated with plague frequency and with the logarithmically transformed plague incidence. These observations suggest that in Lushoto District human fleas may play a role in plague epidemiology. These findings are of immediate public health relevance because they provide an indicator that can be surveyed to assess the risk for plague.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Peste
/
Doenças Endêmicas
/
Topografia Médica
/
Sifonápteros
/
Insetos Vetores
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Emerg Infect Dis
Assunto da revista:
DOENCAS TRANSMISSIVEIS
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Bélgica