Objective: To investigate whether plague phages were present in the indicator animals of plague foci in Yunnan Province, and to explore their epidemiological significance. Methods: Anus swabs were collected from indicator animals (dogs or cats) of the 41 plague affected villages in 26 towns of 10 cities (counties, districts) of Yunnan plague foci from November of 2015 to March of 2018. The Yersinia pestis phages were isolated by plague vaccine strain EV76. The isolation of plague phages from different plague foci, the isolation of plague phages from different canine species (cats), the polymorphism of plaque and the host spectrum of phages were analyzed. Results: A total of 1 014 indicator animals (1 003 dogs and 11 cats) were studied, and 102 of plague phages were isolated. In the 10 cities (counties, districts), plague phages were only not isolated from Lancang County, and the plague phages were isolated from the other 9 cities (counties, districts). The separation rates from high to low were as follows: Yiliang County (21.00%, 21/100), Menghai County (19.23%, 25/130), Yuanjiang County (11.63%, 10/86), Midu County (11.50%, 13/113), Wenshan County (10.10%, 10/99), Mile Country (7.07%, 7/99), Lianghe County (6.67%, 7/105), Baoshan Longyang District (4.90%, 5/102) and Gengma County (3.81%, 4/105). Of the 102 plague phages, 75 were isolated from the native dogs (Chinese pastoral dogs, 9.32%, 75/805), 20 from the pug dogs (13.70%, 20/146), 5 from the wolf dogs (17.24%, 5/29), 1 from Samoye (1/4) and 1 from Alaska dog (1/2). The plaque of the phage was divided by five appearance of complete lysis (the plate was clear), large (2.5-4.0 mm), big (1.5-< 2.5 mm), middle (0.5-< 1.5 mm) and small (< 0.5 mm). The representative phages were all of the Myoviridae family. Most of the phages could lysis the strains of Yersinia pestis, and some phages could lysis Shigella and type 5 Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (PST5). Conclusion The plague phages are present in the plague foci of Yunnan, and the phages are polymorphic.

Objective To investigate whether the host animals of Yulong plague foci carry Yersiniapestis phage,and to identify isolated plague phage.Methods Rodent specimens were collected in 5 villages of Yulong plague foci in spring and autumn of 2016,respectively.Vaccine strain EV76 was used as breeding bacteria.Phage was isolated from the specimens by double-layer plate method and plaque morphology was identified.Results ① Totally 409 samples collected in spring failed in phage isolation.A total of 40 of Yersinia pestis phages were isolated from 444 samples in autumn,and the total isolation rate was 9.01％ (40/444).② The Yersinia pestis phages were isolated in all of 5 villages,and the isolation rate was of no significant difference (x2 =5.055,P ＞ 0.05).③ Of the 40 strains of phage,37 strains were isolated from Apodemus chevrieri,2 strains from Eothenomys Miletus and 1 strain from Crocidura Dracula.④Based on the appearance,the plaque of the phage was divided into three:large (diameter 1.5-2.5 mm),middle (0.5-＜ 1.5 mm) and small (＜ 0.5 mm).Conclusion There is a higher number of plague phage in the host animals of the plague foci in Yulong County of Yunnan Province,the plaques are diverse in morphology,and their biological characteristics may be polymorphic.