Link of the article: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/3/12-1542_article
The article found in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website talks about the plague epidemic. Plague is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be spread between humans and animals. The disease is caused by the gram-negative bacteria Yersinia pestis that is carried by insects and passed on from animals to animals, humans to humans, animals to humans, and vice versa. Therefore, this is also a vector-borne disease. The normal culprit in the spread of this disease is the insect flea. But in this article, plague is associated with the human body louse. Previous to the research presented in the article, it was not confirmed whether plague is transmitted human to human through the human body lice. The article presents a research done in Rethy Health District, Province Orientale, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people living in this area are highly infested with human body louse. The research confirmed that Y. pestis has been carried by the head and body lice. This means that indeed, lice is another agent responsible for passing the bacteria causing the plague across different generations. This article shows another factor that contributes to the emergence of the plague disease. To fully stop the spread of the plague, health organizations should also look into removing and controlling the infestation of head lice among humans. Hair products that kill lice should be given to the people. This article shows that to fully combat a disease, all risk factors involved should be looked upon. In this case, the focus should not just be on fleas but also look at other factors such as human head lice.
References
Piarroux, R., Abedi, A. A., Shako, J.-C., Kebela, B., Karhemere, S., Diatta, G., . . . Drancourt, M. (2013, March). Plague Epidemics and Lice, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved from CDC Web site: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/3/12-1542_article
