School of Public Health, Dali University, Dali, 671000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 7;10(1):16705. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73690-0.
The Yunnan province has one of the most serious outbreaks of the plague epidemic in China. Small mammals and fleas are risk factors for the occurrence of plague in commensal plague foci. Understanding the relationship between fleas and small mammals will help control fleas and prevent the onset of the plague. Four hundred and twenty-one small mammals, belonging to 9 species, were captured. Of these, 170 small mammals (40.4%) were found infested with fleas. A total of 992 parasitic fleas (including 5 species) were collected. The number of Leptopsylla segnis and Xenopsylla cheopis accounted for 91.03% (903/992). The final multiple hurdle negative binomial regression model showed that when compared with Rattus tanezumi, the probability of flea infestation with Mus musculus as well as other host species decreased by 58% and 99%, respectively, while the number of flea infestations of the other host species increased by 4.71 folds. The probability of flea prevalence in adult hosts increased by 74%, while the number of fleas decreased by 76%. The number of flea infestations in small male mammals increased by 62%. The number of fleas in small mammals weighing more than 59 g has been multiplied by about 4. R. tanezumi is the predominant species in households in the west Yunnan province, while L.segnis and X. cheopis were dominant parasitic fleas. There is a strong relationship between the abundance of fleas and the characteristics of small mammals (e.g. Species, age, sex, and body weight).
云南省是中国鼠疫疫情最严重的省份之一。小型哺乳动物和跳蚤是共生型鼠疫疫源地鼠疫发生的危险因素。了解跳蚤与小型哺乳动物的关系有助于控制跳蚤，预防鼠疫的发生。共捕获 421 只小型哺乳动物，分属 9 种，其中 170 只（40.4%）被跳蚤寄生。共采集寄生跳蚤 992 只（包括 5 个种）。其中，印鼠客蚤和染蚤的比例占 91.03%（903/992）。最终的多项障碍负二项回归模型表明，与褐家鼠相比，小家鼠和其他宿主物种的跳蚤寄生概率分别降低了 58%和 99%，而其他宿主物种的跳蚤寄生数量增加了 4.71 倍。成年宿主的跳蚤流行概率增加了 74%，而跳蚤数量减少了 76%。雄性小型哺乳动物的跳蚤寄生数量增加了 62%。体重超过 59 g 的小型哺乳动物的跳蚤数量增加了约 4 倍。褐家鼠是滇西家庭中主要的物种，而印鼠客蚤和染蚤是主要的寄生跳蚤。跳蚤的丰度与小型哺乳动物的特征（如物种、年龄、性别和体重）之间存在很强的关系。
