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~ ~ . ,, ''"'" Land scape Ecology of Plague in the American Southwest September 19-20, 2000 Fort Collins, Colorado Proceedings of an American Southwest Workshop Edited by Christopher J. Brand Sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey-National Wildlife Health Center Information and Technology Report 2002- 0001 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2002 Copies of this report may l)e ot!tainHd from : Nntional Tcchn ica l lr lfUrmation Service. 5285 Port Royill Hd .. Spring-field VA 22H11 (703)00~J-6000, 111 tp://www.mis.gov/ DHfense Technicallnforrna tion Center, 87/.5 Kingman RrJ.. Su ite U~,l~. Fort Belvoir VA 22060-6218 1-800-22!.i -3842. hltp//wwv,;.dticrnil US. Geological Sur vey, National Wildlife Health Center. 6006 SchroecJer Rd, Madison WI 5371 1 1608)770- 7~00. http:/ /www.nwhc.usgs .g ov/ Any use of trade. product, or fi rm names in tf1is publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not impl y endorsement IJy the U.S. Government. Altl1ougl1 til is document is in t11e public domain, it contains copyriyhtecl materials that are noted in the te xt or on ttle cover. Perm ission tD reproduce co pyrig hter! materials must hr. secured from the inclividual copyright owners. Suggested citation: Brand, Christopllr.r J., 2007.l.anclscap e Ecology of Plague in tile Americ8n Soulllwest, September 19-20,2000, f-an Coll ins. Co lor ado, Proceedings of un American Southwest Workshop: Reston. Virginia, U.S. Geological Su rvey lntmrniltion and Technology Report 7002- 0001, 24 p. ror additional information about th is publication piHase contact: US Geo logi cal Su rvey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Scllror:der Rd ., Madison WI 53711 (608)210-2400. llttp:/ /www.nwllc.u sgs.g ov/ Ill Conte nts Tab I e of Contents .................................................................................. ... .. .. .............. .. Ill Executive Summary ....... .... ...... ..... ... ... ..................... ..... .. ........ ..... .... ........ ............... .. IV Acknowledgements ..................... ................... ............................. ... .. ....... .................. .. V Introduct ion ... ................ ............. ............... .. ....... ... ....... .................. ............... ........ ... ..... 1 Worksl1op Purpose and Goa ls ...... .. ... ......... ... ............ .................................................. 3 Agenda ...................... ..................................... .............. ...... .......... ............. ........... ...... ... 4 Abstracts of Presentations ..................................................................... .... .... .............. 5 Abstracts of Panel Presentations ............................................................................... 13 Group Discussion and Identification of Research and Management Information Needs ......... .............................. .. ............. 18 List of Participants .................................................... ......................... .. .... ....... .......... .. 20 IV Executive Summary Du ri ng September 19-20, 2000, a workshop titled "Landscape Ecology of Plague in the American Southwest" was held in Fort Collins, Colorado. The workshop was funded by t he U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Earth Surface Processes Team and sponsored by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. Forty scientists and natural resource managers and administrators represent- ing 8 federal agencies, 4 state agencies, 6 universities, and other local agencies and nongovernment organizations met to discuss historical and current status of plague in the United States, current activities in plague surveillance, resea rch, and management in wildlife, and research and information needs relative t o plague control and management. Eleven individual presentations on plague his tory, status, and trends; diagnostic technologies; epizootiological studies and observations; and control and management strategies and studies, followed by a panel discussion on the impact of plague on wildlife and ecosystems, led the way t o extensive group discussions on important plague-related questions, issues and problems. Workshop attendees participated in identifying important research and information needs relevant to control and management of plague in wildlife, and in the process, established new cooperative and collaborative partnersh ips and en hanced existing relationships upon which future research and information needs can be met. The proceedings from this workshop are intended to be used by t he natural resource managers and researchers from the various participating agencies, research faci lities, as well as other stakeholders to aid in t he develop ment of future research and information programs and funding initiatives related to both zoonotic and sylvatic plague. Terry £. Creekmore v Acknowledgements We thank Richard Reyno lds and David Miller for providing financial support t hrough the U .S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Geologic Discipline's Southwest W orkshops Project for promoting interdisciplinary studies. Dr. R.G. Mclean pro v ided helpful input into the workshop development and review of t he workshop proceedin gs. We also thank Marta Anderson and Elizabeth Ciganovich for prepa ratio n and layout of these proceedings. VI Introducti on Since the introduction of plague ( Yersinia pestis) into the United States in 1900. this disease has spread through the \Vest and Southwest. where a variety of rodent species serve as reservoirs for both human and wildli fe infection. Plague has significantly irnpacted populations of rodent species such as black-tailed (Cynomys fudovicianus). white-tailed (C. leucurus). Gunnison's (C. gun.nisoni), and Utah (C. parvidens) prairie dogs. often killing 90-100 percent of infected colonies. Evidence also suggests that plague may have been a factor in the near extinction of the black-footed ferret (i'vfustela 11igripes) from direct mortality as well as indirectly from decimation of prairie dogs. their sole food source, by plague. Plague in humans is an internationally reportable disease, and an average Plague Cases, by Co unty, Western of about 10-15 cases have been reported each year in the United States since United States, 1970-2000 1975. Federal, Stare, and local public health agencies in plague-endemic areas invest sign ificant resources in surveillance programs to determine the distribution and activity of plague in wildlife and to conduct follow-up epidemiological investigations to identify sources of human cases. \Vild rodents. particularly rock squi.rrels (Spermophilus variegaws), are frequently shown 0 0 cases or implicated to be the reservoir for infecting fleas that transmit the plague 1 case bacterium to humans, often involving domestic cars as links between wildlife 2-8 cases reservoirs and human cases. Increased risk for plague in humans is often ' 7-16 cases associated with expansion of residential areas into areas populated by rodent 17-23 case: reservoirs; and pastoral life styles, particularly among Native Americans on 8 reservations in the southwestern United Srates. • 24-36 case: Plague control in wildlife in the United States has been attempted Courtesy of the Centers for Di.$ease Control and Prevention on numerous occasions. often associated with response to human cases or proactively to reduce risk of transmission to humans within a relatively localized geographic area. These programs often involve rodent and vector population suppression in addition public education and medical surveillance. While these have mer wirh var·ying degrees of success. in general they do not contain the disease for long periods or over broad areas. Rodent targets of population control are often the more visible and susceptible species. while the species responsible for enz<xJtic maintenance may not be affected by these control measures. Re establishment of affected sites with ne.w and naive popul ati ons of susceptible rodents may be rapid in some situations. Courtesy of t!Je Centers for Disease Comrol and Prevention 2 landscape Ecology of Plague in the American Southwest Landscape-scale changes in the West since the early 1900s have likely changed, and will continue to change. epidemiologic and epizooriologic pattems of both zoonotic and sylvatic plague in the United States. Ruralization and suburbanization from many of our major population centers will continue to alter the risk of human expo;;ure to plague from wild rodents; broad-scale changes affecting habitat abundance. distribution. and patchiness will likely change the transmission dynamics and impact of plague within and between wildlife species and populations; and other factors such as climate change, water distribution in arid ecosystems, and other land-use changes may also have unknown effects on the occurrence and distribution of plague. ElTective prevention and control measures J~)r plague in wil.dlife, whether zoonotic or sylva.tic, now and in the future, will benefit from an integrated epidemiological approach bringing together multiple disciplines, including wildlife biology and management. landscape ecology and epidemiology. molecular biology, human and wildlife disease specialties. toxicology. vaccinology, and other disciplines. \Ve hope that the results of this workshop will be used as a seed. or nucleus, for both a broader and more thorough understanding of plague, leading