[The duration of the persistence of the plaque microbe in the body of the flea Citellophilus tesquorum altaicus].

Experiments have established that the plague bacillus persists long in the flea C. tesquorum altaicus in the Tuva natural foci. Experimentally, 64.2 to 77.3% of the fleas inoculated in autumn survived winter. More than one-half preserved the plague bacillus. From 0.7 to 19.4% of the inoculated fleas survived from one summer to another. The plague persisted in 30% of the insects. Individual C. tesquorum altaicus females survived two winters, preserving the bacillus for 21.5-22.0 months. The fact that the fleas has survived both one and two winter periods in coma transmitted the plague bacillus to healthy sousliks has been recorded. Rather late periods (278-411 days) of blocking the fleas after the insects' inoculating feeding have been defined.