Thomas R E, Karstens R H, Schwan T G
Laboratory of Vectors and Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840.
J Med Entomol. 1993 Jan;30(1):209-13. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/30.1.209.
Previous laboratory studies have shown that inoculation of bacterial endotoxin into the hemocoel of some arthropods, or natural infection by a number of pathogens, causes them to seek out a higher ambient temperature. This phenomenon has been called behavioral fever. Yersinia pestis is an endotoxin-producing bacterium that relies on infection of fleas for transmission. Behavioral fever in fleas might enhance the transmission of plague if infected fleas were induced to seek out a warm-bodied host after the death of an infected host. Our study indicates that in thermal gradient Y. pestis infected Oriental rat fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis) do not exhibit behavioral fever and in one experiment sought out a significantly lower temperature.
先前的实验室研究表明，将细菌内毒素接种到一些节肢动物的血腔中，或被多种病原体自然感染，会使它们寻找更高的环境温度。这种现象被称为行为热。鼠疫耶尔森菌是一种产生内毒素的细菌，它依靠感染跳蚤进行传播。如果受感染的跳蚤在感染宿主死亡后被诱导寻找温血宿主，那么跳蚤的行为热可能会增强鼠疫的传播。我们的研究表明，在热梯度环境中，感染鼠疫耶尔森菌的印鼠客蚤不会表现出行为热，并且在一项实验中寻找的温度明显更低。
