Diverse Genotypes of Yersinia pestis Caused Plague in Madagascar in 2007.

BACKGROUND:Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of human plague and is endemic in various African, Asian and American countries. In Madagascar, the disease represents a significant public health problem with hundreds of human cases a year. Unfortunately, poor infrastructure makes outbreak investig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Julia M Riehm, Michaela Projahn, Amy J Vogler, Minoaerisoa Rajerison, Genevieve Andersen, Carina M Hall, Thomas Zimmermann, Rahelinirina Soanandrasana, Voahangy Andrianaivoarimanana, Reinhard K Straubinger, Roxanne Nottingham, Paul Keim, David M Wagner, Holger C Scholz
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015
Subjects:
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003844
https://doaj.org/article/dfc1bd39390b42a88d20ca024c9f9044
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND:Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of human plague and is endemic in various African, Asian and American countries. In Madagascar, the disease represents a significant public health problem with hundreds of human cases a year. Unfortunately, poor infrastructure makes outbreak investigations challenging. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:DNA was extracted directly from 93 clinical samples from patients with a clinical diagnosis of plague in Madagascar in 2007. The extracted DNAs were then genotyped using three molecular genotyping methods, including, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) analysis. These methods provided increasing resolution, respectively. The results of these analyses revealed that, in 2007, ten molecular groups, two newly described here and eight previously identified, were responsible for causing human plague in geographically distinct areas of Madagascar. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Plague in Madagascar is caused by numerous distinct types of Y. pestis. Genotyping method choice should be based upon the discriminatory power needed, expense, and available data for any desired comparisons. We conclude that genotyping should be a standard tool used in epidemiological investigations of plague outbreaks.

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