Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Nov 16;13(11):e1006622.
doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006622. eCollection 2017 Nov.

Irruptive mammal host populations shape tularemia epidemiology

Juan J Luque-Larena  1 , François Mougeot  2 , Beatriz Arroyo  2 , Mª Dolors Vidal  3 , Ruth Rodríguez-Pastor  1 , Raquel Escudero  4 , Pedro Anda  4 , Xavier Lambin  5
Affiliations
Review

Irruptive mammal host populations shape tularemia epidemiology

Juan J Luque-Larena et al. PLoS Pathog. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Dynamics of tularemia outbreaks in Northwest Spain.
Common voles (Microtus arvalis) are key agents for this disease in Northwest Spain (Castilla-y-León region), where outbreaks of tularemia among humans have been endemic in farming landscapes since 1997 (>1,300 cases in 1997–2016). Voles have been identified as a main spillover and amplification agent of tularemia because epizootic and epidemic episodes coincide in time and space with vole outbreaks. When the rodents reach peak densities (>1,000 voles/ha), up to 33% of them are infected with tularemia. Therefore, as vole numbers increase, so does the bacterium in the environment. Transmission routes of tularemia to humans during zoonotic outbreaks include (i) direct contact with wildlife species such as hares or crayfish, which coexist with voles in the same habitats, and (ii) trough inhalation during the harvesting of vole-infested crop fields. At low vole densities, the bacterium is not found among the rodents, indicating that, between vole outbreaks, populations of F. tularensis subs. holarctica may remain at lower numbers, associated with some yet-unknown reservoirs. Enzootic cycles in local wildlife other than voles, including hematophagous arthropods (a) and other small- and medium-sized mammals, (b) may also contribute to sustaining the bacteria in the environment during inter-epizootic periods. Water is a main habitat for reservoir candidates (c) because it is a well-known favorable habitat for tularemia (most especially in these semiarid landscapes of Northwest Spain).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Han BA, Schmidt JP, Bowden SE, Drake JM. Rodent reservoirs of future zoonotic diseases. PNAS. 2015; 112: 7039–7044. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1501598112 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Walton L, Marion G, Davidson RS, White PCL, Smith LA, Gavier-Widen D, et al. The ecology of wildlife disease surveillance: demographic and prevalence fluctuations undermine surveillance. J App Ecol. 2016; 53: 1460–1469. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12671 - DOI
    1. Begon M. Ecological Epidemiology In: Levin SA, Carpenter SR, Godfray HCJ, Kinzig AP, Loreau M, Losos JB, et al., editors. The Princeton guide to ecology. Princeton University Press; 2009. pp. 220–226.
    1. Bradbury J. Beyond the fire-hazard mentality of medicine: the ecology of infectious diseases. PLoS Biol. 2003; 1(2):e22 doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0000022 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Karesh WB, Dobson A, Lloyd-Smith JO, Lubroth J, Dixon MA, Bennett M, et al. Ecology of zoonoses: natural and unnatural histories. Lancet. 2012; 380:1936–1945. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61678-X - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types