| experimentally infected human body lice (pediculus humanus humanus) as vectors of rickettsia rickettsii and rickettsia conorii in a rabbit model. | the human body louse, the natural vector of rickettsia prowazekii, is able to experimentally transmit the normally flea-borne rickettsia r. typhi, suggesting that the relationships between the body louse and rickettsiae are not specific. we used our experimental infection model to test the ability of body lice to transmit two prevalent tick-borne rickettsiae. each of two rabbits was made bacteremic by injecting intravenously 2 x 10(6) plaque-forming units of either r. rickettsii or r. conorii. f ... | 2006 | 16606977 |