(De Gruyter, 2022-01-03) Banda, Annabel; Gandiwa, Edson; Muboko, Never; Muposhi, Victor K.
This study assessed the prevalence of plague
bacterium (Yersinia pestis) among rodents captured in
Umzingwane and Nkayi districts, south-western Zimbabwe.
A total of 44 rodents were captured on three consecutive
days per trapping session in the study sites using a
removal trapping method in April 2018. Captured rodents
were euthanized, and blood samples were collected.
The Giemsa stain method was used to detect plague
bacteria. The trapping success was not significantly different (χ² = 1.50, df = 1, P = 0.221), 8.5% for the Nkayi
district, while in the Umzingwane district, it was 8%.
Overall, only one rodent species, i.e., Mastomys natalensis, tested positive for Y. pestis in the Umzingwane
district, thus yielding a prevalence rate of 2.3% for the
entire study area. This was the most important finding of
a Y. pestis-positive rodent in a non-endemic wild area in
the Umzingwane district. These results point to a low
prevalence of Y. pestis in the study area and the importance of an active plague disease surveillance and monitoring system.