PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “PLAGUE/prevention and control”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1953

DDT in the prevention of plague in Ecuador.

There was no satisfactory solution to the plague problem until the advent of DDT, which made it possible to break one of the links in the chain of spread of the disease. DDT has been used in Ecuador since 1946 with great success, particularly in the control of rural plague; it is systematically applied every four months in areas considered to be plague foci. Wherever possible, it is used in the form of 10% dusting-powder, although emulsions and solutions of DDT are also used.Since 1950, however, there have been indications, confirmed by experiments and by information from Brazil, that generations of DDT-resistant fleas are breeding. This creates a serious problem requiring close study if a solution is to be found and if one of the most effective weapons for plague-control is not to be rendered useless.

Animals↗
PubMed1953

Application of DDT, BHC, and cyanogas in the control of plague in India.

A comparison is made of the results obtained in various parts of India since 1945 with DDT, BHC, and Cyanogas in the control of plague.Antiplague campaigns involving the use of Cyanogas (calcium cyanide) have shown this pulicide to be effective in many cases in keeping down the flea index and in restricting the spread of the disease, although Cyanogas fumigation alone will not stop the annual recrudescence of epidemics. Comparative trials in Madras State showed that insufflation of rat-holes and harbourages with 10% DDT dusting-powder was effective in keeping the flea index below 1 in several villages, while repeated Cyanogas fumigation in the town of Coonoor did not greatly reduce the index there. In another series of experiments, the toxic action of both DDT and BHC (Gammexane) was still evident 84-90 days after dusting, but the DDT was the more powerful pulicide. Cyanogas dusting had no effect in reducing the flea index in these experiments.In their conclusions, the authors consider that DDT, despite a number of instances of its failure, is the most valuable pulicide, followed by BHC and Cyanogas, in that order. A successful antiplague operation, however, depends on the methods used, the dosage of pulicide, and the time and intensity of its application. In addition, to eradicate plague in endemic areas, it is, of course, necessary to continue control efforts during the interepidemic periods.

Animals↗
PubMed1955

Wild-rodent-flea control in rural areas of an enzootic plague region in Hawaii; a preliminary investigation of methods.

Preliminary field tests were carried out to develop methods for controlling fleas on wild rodents in the enzootic plague region of the Island of Hawaii. Among several designs, a metal hood-type DDT bait-box was developed which was simple in design, low in cost, easy to transport to and maintain in the field, protected the insecticide from the elements, and attracted all species of field rats inhabiting a gulch in the Hamakua District. These rats-Rattus rattus (and its subspecies), R. norvegicus, and R. hawaiiensis-readily fed in the DDT bait-boxes and were dusted with 10% DDT powder (in pyrophyllite) on contacting hanging cloth sacks, containing the insecticide, when entering and leaving the bait-boxes. The results indicate that a reduction of the plague-vector fleas, Xenopsylla cheopis and X. vexabilis hawaiiensis, may be obtained both on rats and within their burrows and nests, by the use of DDT bait-boxes. It is suggested that the use of such bait-boxes for wild-rodent-flea control may constitute a valuable method in the prevention of epizootics of plague in the Hamakua District, Hawaii.

Animals↗
PubMed1960

Experience in the eradication of enzootic plague in the north-west part of the Caspian region of the USSR.

The writer recounts the history of plague control in the north-west part of the Caspian lowlands from 1924 to 1956. Plague has long been enzootic in this area, the main rodent involved being the little sisel. Until 1932, sisels were exterminated only in small areas where epizootics occurred, but from 1933 to 1941 an extensive extermination campaign was waged, covering up to 7 million hectares annually. The excellent results achieved by these wholesale measures suffered a setback during the Second World War, but effective rodent control was re-established in 1947 and it is thought that complete eradication of enzootic plague from the area can now be expected.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed1960

A confirmed case of DDT-resistance in Xenopsylla cheopis in India.

The authors describe a technique, developed in their laboratory at Poona, Bombay State, for estimating the susceptibility of the oriental rat-flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, to insecticides. Using this technique, they compared the susceptibility to DDT, gamma-BHC and dieldrin of a field population of X. cheopis from a locality in Poona District which had been sprayed with DDT 28 times, with that of a similar population from a locality in North Satara District which had been sprayed only three times. The Poona strain proved to be highly resistant to DDT and moderately resistant to BHC, which has never been used in Poona District, but remained susceptible to dieldrin, although slightly less so than the Satara strain. The authors consider this a clear-cut case of the development of physiological resistance as a result of continued DDT spraying, and suggest that the rat-fleas in any area where DDT has been used on a large scale for disease control should be tested regularly for susceptibility so that, in the event of an outbreak of plague, the insecticide most likely to destroy the vector could be applied from the outset.

Animals↗
PubMed1953

Rodenticides in bubonic-plague control.

The relatively recent development of more-effective pulicides has been paralleled by the discovery of more-efficient rodenticides. Eight of the latter-namely, warfarin, pival, red squill, alpha-naphthylthiourea (ANTU), zinc phosphide, arsenic trioxide, thallium sulfate, and sodium fluoroacetate (1080)-are discussed with particular reference to the criteria of effectiveness against rodents and relative safety to humans and pets. Although the perfect rodenticide has not yet been found, the authors consider that, at present, warfarin appears the most successful in domestic-rat control campaigns. However, the true value of warfarin has still to be determined, and in the meantime it is necessary to select the rodenticide and bait which appear to be most appropriate in each case. In addition, the authors point out that, if the initial poisoning has been ineffective, follow-up with a second rodenticide and bait can produce good results.

Fluoroacetates↗