Plague and the human flea, Tanzania

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dc.creatorLaudson, Anne
dc.creatorLeirs, Herwig
dc.creatorMakundi, Rhodes H.
dc.creatorDongen, Stefan Van
dc.creatorDavis, Stephen
dc.creatorNeerinckx, Simon
dc.creatorDeckers, Jozef
dc.creatorLibois, Roland
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-02T11:52:14Z
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-05T07:26:35Z
dc.date.available2016-12-02T11:52:14Z
dc.date.created2016-12-02T11:52:14Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractDomestic fl eas were collected in 12 villages in the western Usambara Mountains in Tanzania. Of these, 7 are considered villages with high plague frequency, where hu- man plague was recorded during at least 6 of the 17 plague seasons between 1986 and 2004. In the remaining 5 vil- lages with low plague frequency, plague was either rare or unrecorded. Pulex irritans, known as the human fl ea, was the predominant fl ea species (72.4%) in houses. The den- sity of P. irritans, but not of other domestic fl eas, was signifi - cantly higher in villages with a higher plague frequency or incidence. Moreover, the P. irritans index was strongly posi- tively correlated with plague frequency and with the logarith- mically transformed plague incidence. These observations suggest that in Lushoto District human fl eas may play a role in plague epidemiology. These fi ndings are of immediate public health relevance because they provide an indicator that can be surveyed to assess the risk for plague.
dc.identifierhttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/1072
dc.identifier.urihttp://repository.costech.or.tz/handle/20.500.14732/97773
dc.languageen
dc.publisherEmerging Infectious Diseases
dc.subjectPlague
dc.subjectHuman Flea
dc.subjectWestern Usambara Mountains
dc.subjectTanzania
dc.subjectDomestic fleas
dc.titlePlague and the human flea, Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

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