关键词: 鼠疫, 土壤, 金属元素, 鼠疫自然疫源地

Abstract: Objective To measure soil metal content in plague natural foci with Meriones unguiculatus as the host in the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia, China and to investigate their correlations. Methods Soil samples were collected from 30 sites with and 30 sites without plague natural foci in the Ordos Plateau. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was used to measure the content of 13 metal elements such as potassium, iron, and calcium in soil. Data were entered and organized using Excel 2019 software. SPSS 26.0 software was used for independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test to analyze the differences in metal content between the two groups of sampling. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to determine the correlations between the content of metal elements. Results Calcium was the most abundant metal element in the soils from both groups of sampling sites in the Ordos Plateau, followed by iron and potassium. The differences in potassium, iron, and rubidium content between the soils from the two groups of sampling sites were statistically significant (Z=-2.423, P=0.015; Z=-2.034, P=0.042; t=2.860, P=0.005). Positive correlations were found between the content of most metal elements in both groups of sampling sites, such as potassium and lead, calcium and iron, and iron and lead (all P<0.05). Conclusions The soil from the plague natural focus with Meriones unguiculatus as the host in the Ordos Plateau is rich in calcium, iron, and potassium. There are correlations between most of the metal elements in the sampling sites with and without plague natural foci. The role of metal elements in plague epidemic warrants further study.

Key words: Plague, Soil, Metal element, Natural plague focus