{"id":55576,"date":"2024-05-21T18:06:33","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/human-body-lice-could-harbor-the-plague-and-spread-it-through-biting\/"},"modified":"2024-05-21T18:06:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:06:33","slug":"human-body-lice-could-harbor-the-plague-and-spread-it-through-biting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/human-body-lice-could-harbor-the-plague-and-spread-it-through-biting\/","title":{"rendered":"Human body lice could harbor the plague and spread it through biting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Human<\/div> \r\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n

Rats and their fleas take the rap for spreading the plague, but lice that infest people may share the blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human body lice can harbor plague-causing bacteria<\/a> and can transmit the disease by biting, researchers report May 21 in PLOS Biology<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some studies have suggested that Yersinia pestis<\/em>, the bacterium that causes the plague, spread too quickly during the Black Death of 1346 to 1353<\/a> and other outbreaks to be the sole work of rats and fleas (SN: 6\/15\/22<\/em>). Human body lice, which feed on human blood, might be involved, but previous research found that the lice aren\u2019t very efficient at spreading the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n