are the most common vectors of Yersinia pestis, the plague agent (1). The human body louse (Pediculus humanus) has been proposed as a probable additional vector during historical epidemics (2) because human cases of louse-borne plague have been suspected (3) and body louse–borne plague has been demonstrated experimentally with rabbits (4). Using rabbits, we tested the ability of the 3 Y. pestis main biovars to produce a successful rabbit-louse-rabbit-louse cycle of transmission (4). Two New Zealand White (Oryctolagu
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