Abstract
During the last decades, large tularemia outbreaks in humans have coincided in time and space with population outbreaks of common voles in northwestern Spain, leading us to hypothesize that this rodent species acts as a key spillover agent of Francisella tularensis in the region. Here, we evaluate for the first time a potential link between irruptive vole numbers and human tularemia outbreaks in Spain. We compiled vole abundance estimates obtained through live-trapping monitoring studies and official reports of human tularemia cases during the period 1997-2014. We confirm a significant positive association between yearly cases of tularemia infection in humans and vole abundance. High vole densities during outbreaks (up to 1000 voles/hectare) may therefore enhance disease transmission and spillover contamination in the environment. If this ecological link is further confirmed, the apparent multiannual cyclicity of common vole outbreaks might provide a basis for forecasting the risk of tularemia outbreaks in northwestern Spain.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 568-570 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 2 Sept 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 Sept 2015 |
Bibliographical note
This study contributes to the project ECOVOLE (CGL 2012-35348; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain). We thank the Centro Nacional de Epidemiología (ISCIII) for kindly sharing data on declared cases of tularemia in humans, and J.A. Fargallo for allowing us the use of published vole abundance data from Segovia.Keywords
- Tularemia
- Francisella tularensis
- common vole
- Microtus arvalis
- outbreaks
- Spain
