Plague Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Plague, including details on bubonic plague, yersinia pestis, infection, types, treatment.

Experimental model to evaluate the human body louse as a vector of plague.

Houhamdi L, Lepidi H, Drancourt M, Raoult D

Unite des Rickettsies, Institut Federatif de Recherche 48, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Unite Mixte de Recherche 6020, Universite de la Mediterranee, Marseille cedex 5 13385, France.

Yersinia pestis has been found in human body lice during plague outbreaks. To evaluate the role that the human body louse plays as a vector of plague, we allowed lice to feed on rabbits made bacteremic by intravenous inoculation of 10(9) colony-forming units of 3 strains of Y. pestis. High mortality rates were observed in all lice 2 and 3 days after infection. The lice remained infected with the strains for their life span and excreted viable organisms in their feces from day 1, although they were unable to lay eggs. The lice infected with 2 virulent strains of Y. pestis transmitted the organisms during feeding to uninfected rabbits, which became septicemic and died of plague (with 1 exception) 1 day later. Infections were transmitted to naive lice that were fed on these rabbits, showing that lice can be vectors of Y. pestis in an experimental model.

Published 3 November 2006 in J Infect Dis, 194(11): 1589-96.
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