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Human body lice could harbor the plague and spread it through biting 

Special glands in the head can house plague bacteria

Image shows the head and upper appendages of a glowing green human body louse. Two red dots on either side of the head indicate the louse carries Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, in specialized structures called Pawlowsky glands.

A human body louse (green in this fluorescent microscope image) has special glands in its head that can get infected with plague bacteria (red/orange).

David M. Bland (CC0)

By Tina Hesman Saey

Rats and their fleas take the rap for spreading the plague, but lice that infest people may share the blame.

Human body lice can harbor plague-causing bacteria and can transmit the disease by biting, researchers report May 21 in PLOS Biology.