A Case of Human Plague in Kosh-Agach Region of the Republic of Altai in 2015. Communication 2. Microbiological and Molecular-Genetic Characteristics of the Isolated Strains

Abstract

Objective of the study was a complex pheno- and genotypic investigation of Yersinia pestis I-3595 and Y. pestis I-3596 strains, isolated from marmots that were the source of human infection in 2015. Materials and methods. A comprehensive microbiological, molecular-genetic and mass-spectrometric studying of Y. pestis ssp. pestis strains, isolated from two grey marmots that became a cause of the plague case in Gorno-Altai high-mountain focus in 2015, was performed using up-to-date methods. Results and conclusions. It was established that the studied Y. pestis strains belonged to the main subspecies. Results of plasmid screening, multilocus VNTR-and mass-spectrometric analyses showed that those strains were closely related to Y. pestis variant detected in the focus in 2012 and in 2014, and circulating in Northwest Mongolia and Tuva natural focus.

Keywords

• gorno-altai high-mountain natural plague focus
• yersinia pestis
• plasmid screening
• multilocus vntr-analysis
• mass-spectrometric assay