@article{fdi:010071427,
  title = {{T}he {A}sian house shrew {S}uncus murinus as a reservoir and source of human outbreaks of plague in {M}adagascar},
  author = {{R}ahelinirina, {S}. and {R}ajerison, {M}. and {T}elfer, {S}. and {S}avin, {C}. and {C}arniel, {E}. and {D}uplantier, {J}ean-{M}arc},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}dentifying key reservoirs for zoonoses is crucial for understanding variation in incidence. {P}lague re-emerged in {M}ahajanga, {M}adagascar in the 1990s but there has been no confirmed case since 1999. {H}ere we combine ecological and genetic data, from during and after the epidemics, with experimental infections to examine the role of the shrew {S}uncus murinus in the plague epidemiological cycle. {T}he predominance of {S}. murinus captures during the epidemics, their carriage of the flea vector and their infection with {Y}ersinia pestis suggest they played an important role in the maintenance and transmission of plague. {S}. murinus exhibit a high but variable resistance to experimental {Y}. pestis infections, providing evidence of its ability to act as a maintenance host. {G}enetic analyses of the strains isolated from various hosts were consistent with two partially-linked transmission cycles, with plague persisting within the {S}. murinus population, occasionally spilling over into the rat and human populations. {T}he recent isolation from a rat in {M}ahajanga of a {Y}. pestis strain genetically close to shrew strains obtained during the epidemics reinforces this hypothesis and suggests circulation of plague continues. {T}he observed decline in {S}. murinus and {X}enopsylla cheopis since the epidemics appears to have decreased the frequency of spillover events to the more susceptible rats, which act as a source of infection for humans. {A}lthough this may explain the lack of confirmed human cases in recent years, the current circulation of plague within the city highlights the continuing health threat.},
  keywords = {{MADAGASCAR} ; {MAHAJANGA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{PLOS} {N}eglected {T}ropical {D}iseases},
  volume = {11},
  numero = {11},
  pages = {e0006072 [14 p.]},
  ISSN = {1935-2735},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0006072},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010071427},
}