SummaryWe tested for plague (Yersinia pestis) in a puma population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) over 9 years, overlapping a case when a boy in the area became infected with plague. Antibodies to Y. pestis were detected in 8 of 17 (47%) pumas tested by complement-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the organism itself was detected in 4 of 11 (36%) pumas tested after necropsy. Neither puma sex nor age was significantly associated with Y. pestis exposure or mortality, although our sample size was small. The overall prevalence of exposure we recorded was similar to that found along the western slope of Colorado, which is adjacent to the Four Corners region, a known plague hotspot in the USA. This suggests that: (1) Y. pestis may be present at higher levels in the GYE than previously assumed; (2) plague is a significant source of mortality for local pumas (6.6% of sub-adult and adult mortality); and (3) pumas may be a useful sentinel for potential risk of plague exposure to humans throughout the West. We would also emphasize that hunters and others handling pumas in this region should be made aware of the possibility of exposure.

中文翻译：

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大黄石生态系统中的鼠疫、美洲狮和潜在的人畜共患病暴露

总结我们测试了鼠疫（鼠疫耶尔森菌) 在大黄石生态系统 (GYE) 的美洲狮种群中进行了超过 9 年的研究，与该地区一名男孩感染鼠疫的病例重叠。抗体鼠疫耶尔森氏菌在通过补体酶联免疫吸附试验测试的 17 只美洲狮中，有 8 只（47%）被检测到，而在尸检后测试的 11 只（36%）美洲狮中，有 4 只（36%）检测到有机体本身。美洲狮性别和年龄均与鼠疫耶尔森氏菌暴露或死亡率，尽管我们的样本量很小。我们记录的总体暴露流行率与科罗拉多州西坡发现的相似，该地区毗邻美国已知的鼠疫热点四角地区。这表明：(1)鼠疫耶尔森氏菌GYE 中的含量可能比之前假设的更高；(2) 鼠疫是当地美洲狮死亡率的重要来源（占亚成年和成年死亡率的 6.6%）；(3) 美洲狮可能是一个有用的哨兵，可用于监测整个西方人类接触鼠疫的潜在风险。我们还要强调，应该让猎人和其他在该地区处理美洲狮的人意识到暴露的可能性。