title: An experimental model of human body louse infection with Rickettsia prowazekii.
abstract: Rickettsia prowazekii is transmitted to humans by the body louse. A new experimental model of body louse infection with R. prowazekii is reported here. Eight hundred human lice were infected by feeding on a rabbit that was made bacteremic by injecting 2x106 plaque-forming units of R. prowazekii. The bacterium invaded the stomach cells and was released in feces, in which it was detected 5 days after infection. At day 6 after infection, as a result of the cell burst and the spread of erythrocytes in the hemolymph, the louse became bright red and died within 4 h. The life span of infected lice was shortened by 20-23 days, compared with that of uninfected control lice. Infected lice did not transmit R. prowazekii to their progeny. Through cell culture, rickettsiae were cultivated from fecal samples up to 10 days after their emission. The administration of doxycycline to the rabbit during louse feeding did not cure lice from R. prowazekii infection.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Rickettsies, Institut Fédératif de Recheche 48, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Houhamdi
authors.forename: Pierre-Edouard
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lepidi
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D010373:Lice Infestations; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D023421:Models, Animal; D010374:Pediculus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011817:Rabbits; D012283:Rickettsia prowazekii / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014438:Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004318:Doxycycline