Yersinia pestis

Epidemiology

• endemic to southwestern U.S.
• reservoir is rodents
• transmission is through the bite of a flea

Pathology

• etiologic agent of plague
• rhoA serves as a target for the yopT cysteine peptidase from Yersinia pestis & Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
• rhoA is cleaved by yopT protease when the cell is infected by Yersinia; this removes the lipid attachment, & leads to its displacement from plasma membrane & to subsequent cytoskeleton cleavage

Laboratory

• Yersinia pestis Ab in serum
• Yersinia pestis antigen
• Yersinia pestis identified in isolate
• Yersinia pestis DNA
• Yersinia pestis culture
  • non-motile bipolar straining gram negative bacillus (appearance of a closed safety pin)

Management

• streptomycin or gentamicin
• alternative agents
  • doxycycline
  • fluoroquinolone

Notes

• because of the lethality of pneumonic plague, the CDC has labeled Yersinia pestis as a categoty A bioterrorism agent

More general terms

• Yersinia

Additional terms

• plague