Experimental Model to Evaluate the Human Body Louse as a Vector of Plague

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 109 colony-forming units of 3 strains of Y. pestis. High mortality r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2006-12, Vol.194 (11), p.1589-1596
Main Authors: Houhamdi, Linda, Lepidi, Hubert, Drancourt, Michel, Raoult, Didier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteremia - microbiology
Bacteria
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Disease Models, Animal
Epidemics
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Fleas
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Insect Vectors - microbiology
Lice
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Pediculus - microbiology
Plague
Plague - transmission
Polymerase chain reaction
Rabbits
Survival Analysis
Tropical bacterial diseases
Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis - isolation & purification
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Summary: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 109 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
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1086/508995