Plague in camels and its prevention in the USSR

In 1954-56 a series of experiments was carried out in Central Asia, under the guidance of the author, in which camels were infected with plague by infesting them with Ixodes and Argas ticks which had previously fed on plague-infected laboratory animals. Subcutaneous, intradermal and intravenous injection was also used. The experiments showed that the camels varied markedly in their susceptibility to plague, which in any case was relatively low.Special investigations on plague prevention in camels are also reported. Vaccination with dried live vaccine injected in a single dose of 30 000 million organisms created a sufficiently high degree of immunity in adult animals. Spraying of the camels’ coats with insecticide is also recommended.