The reservoir species for Yersinia pestis is/are:

The reservoir species for Yersinia pestis is/are:

• A. Ticks, e.g., Dermacentor andersoni and Amblyomma americanum
• B. Rodents
• C. Rodent fleas
• D. Cats

Answer: (B)

Rodents serve as the reservoir hosts for Yersinia pestis. In nature, the bacterium is maintained in wild rodent populations and is transmitted among them primarily by flea vectors. This rodent–flea cycle keeps Y. pestis circulating in the environment, allowing occasional spillover to humans or domestic animals when fleas feed on an infected rodent and then bite a new host. Cats can become infected but are incidental hosts and do not sustain the bacterium in the ecosystem. Ticks are not the main reservoirs they are occasionally involved in some transmission scenarios, but they do not maintain the bacterium over time in nature.

Rodents serve as the reservoir hosts for Yersinia pestis. In nature, the bacterium is maintained in wild rodent populations and is transmitted among them primarily by flea vectors. This rodent–flea cycle keeps Y. pestis circulating in the environment, allowing occasional spillover to humans or domestic animals when fleas feed on an infected rodent and then bite a new host. Cats can become infected but are incidental hosts and do not sustain the bacterium in the ecosystem. Ticks are not the main reservoirs they are occasionally involved in some transmission scenarios, but they do not maintain the bacterium over time in nature.