Ecologic, Geoclimatic, and Genomic Factors Modulating Plague Epidemics in Primary Natural Focus, Brazil

Plague is a deadly zoonosis that still poses a threat in many regions of the world. We combined epidemiologic, host, and vector surveillance data collected during 1961-1980 from the Araripe Plateau focus in northeastern Brazil with ecologic, geoclimatic, and Yersinia pestis genomic information to el...

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Published inEmerging infectious diseases Vol. 30; no. 9; pp. 1850 - 1864
Main Authors Bezerra, Matheus F, Fernandes, Diego L R S, Rocha, Igor V, Pitta, João L L P, Freitas, Natan D A, Oliveira, André L S, Guimarães, Ricardo J P S, Gomes, Elainne C S, de Andreazzi, Cecília Siliansky, Sobreira, Marise, Rezende, Antonio M, Cordeiro-Estrela, Pedro, Almeida, Alzira M P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.09.2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Subjects
Animals
bacteria
Biomes
Brazil
Brazil - epidemiology
Causes of
Comparative analysis
Distribution
Ecologic, Geoclimatic, and Genomic Factors Modulating Plague Epidemics in Primary Natural Focus, Brazil
Epidemics
Genetic variance
Genome, Bacterial
Genomics
Genomics - methods
Host-parasite relationships
Humans
Methods
parasites
Plague
Plague - epidemiology
Plague - microbiology
Precipitation
Reference services
Regression analysis
Seasons
Sentinel health events
Siphonaptera - microbiology
Surveillance
Variables
vector-borne infections
Vegetation
Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis - genetics
Zoonoses
Brazil
Plague
rainfall
vector-borne infections
bacteria
Brazil
parasites
zoonoses
climate
ecological network
One Health
Yersinia pestis
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Summary:Plague is a deadly zoonosis that still poses a threat in many regions of the world. We combined epidemiologic, host, and vector surveillance data collected during 1961-1980 from the Araripe Plateau focus in northeastern Brazil with ecologic, geoclimatic, and Yersinia pestis genomic information to elucidate how these factors interplay in plague activity. We identified well-delimited plague hotspots showing elevated plague risk in low-altitude areas near the foothills of the plateau's concave sectors. Those locations exhibited distinct precipitation and vegetation coverage patterns compared with the surrounding areas. We noted a seasonal effect on plague activity, and human cases linearly correlated with precipitation and rodent and flea Y. pestis positivity rates. Genomic characterization of Y. pestis strains revealed a foundational strain capable of evolving into distinct genetic variants, each linked to temporally and spatially constrained plague outbreaks. These data could identify risk areas and improve surveillance in other plague foci within the Caatinga biome.
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Author contributions: M.F.B, D.L.S.R., and A.M.P.A. conceived the project; D.L.S.R., E.C.S.G., A.L.S.O, and R.J.P.S. performed the geoprocessing analysis; I.V.R. and M.S. performed the Yersinia pestis culture-related experiments and curated the Fiocruz-CYP collection data; I.V.R. performed the genomic sequencing; J.L.L.P.P. and A.M.R. performed the bioinformatic analysis; N.D.A.F., C.S.A., and P.C.E. performed the ecological networks analysis; M.F.B. and A.M.P.A. performed the epidemiological and animal surveillance analysis; A.M.P.A. and D.L.S.R. accessed the PPP documentary collection to acquire epidemiologic and animal surveillance data; A.M.P.A., M.S., and M.F.B. acquired the funding; M.F.B. wrote the original draft of the manuscript, and all authors revised and approved the submitted version.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid3009.240468