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Case Reports
. 2008 Jun;14(6):941-3.
doi: 10.3201/eid1406.080029.

Persistence of Yersinia pestis in soil under natural conditions

Rebecca J Eisen  1 , Jeannine M Petersen, Charles L Higgins, David Wong, Craig E Levy, Paul S Mead, Martin E Schriefer, Kevin S Griffith, Kenneth L Gage, C Ben Beard
Affiliations
Case Reports

Persistence of Yersinia pestis in soil under natural conditions

Rebecca J Eisen et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

As part of a fatal human plague case investigation, we showed that the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, can survive for at least 24 days in contaminated soil under natural conditions. These results have implications for defining plague foci, persistence, transmission, and bioremediation after a natural or intentional exposure to Y. pestis.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
AscI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns for the Yersinia pestis isolates recovered from soil (lane 3) and the mountain lion (lane 2). Lane 1, Salmonella enterica serotype Braenderup standard.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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