Isolation and Identification of Yersinia pestis

The isolation and identification of Yersinia pestis are critical for plague surveillance and diagnosis. This pathogen can be isolated from animals and patients using different kinds of specimens and different cultivation strategies. Yersinia pestis can be identified by its biochemical features, by its susceptibility to bacteriophage lysis, by animal experiments, or via polymerase chain reaction. In this chapter, the techniques used to isolate suspected Y. pestis, as well as the methods to identify this pathogen, are described.