Question:
What is the natural reservoir of plague?
What is the natural reservoir of plague?
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The flea is the vector and man is incidental, so look at the sylvatic rodent host.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Domestic rat
- Wild rat
- Rat flea
- Man
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis. A reservoir is the host in which the organism is maintained in nature over the long term.
Step 2: Wild rodents, especially wild rats, form the natural reservoir of plague. The infection is maintained silently in these wild populations as sylvatic or wild plague.
Step 3: The domestic rat acts as an amplifier host and a link to humans (domestic or urban plague) rather than the long term reservoir. The rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) is the vector, not the reservoir, and man is an incidental dead end host.
Step 4: Hence the reservoir of plague is the wild rat.
Step 2: Wild rodents, especially wild rats, form the natural reservoir of plague. The infection is maintained silently in these wild populations as sylvatic or wild plague.
Step 3: The domestic rat acts as an amplifier host and a link to humans (domestic or urban plague) rather than the long term reservoir. The rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) is the vector, not the reservoir, and man is an incidental dead end host.
Step 4: Hence the reservoir of plague is the wild rat.
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