A New Clade of African Body and Head Lice Infected by Bartonella quintana and Yersinia pestis—Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Abstract. The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases-specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively-that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondrial clades: A, B, and C. Here, we describe a fourth mitochondrial clade, Clade D, comprising head and body lice. Clade D may be a vector of B. quintana and Y. pestis, which is prevalent in a highly plague-endemic area near the Rethy Health District, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) are bloodsucking ectoparasites specific to humans, which occupy two different ecological niches.

Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo

“…humanus , are obligatory hematophagous parasite that thrived exclusively on human blood for thousands of years [1, 2]. The two lice are now usually considered members of a single species as opposed to separate species [3, 4], each louse lives and multiplies in a specific ecological niche: hair for head lice and clothing for body lice [5, 6]. …”

“…Haplogroup A is the most common, and possesses a global distribution, including both head and body lice [1, 2, 6, 8, 9]. Clade B comprises only head lice, is confined to the New Word, Europe, Australia and was recently reported in North and South Africa [2, 6, 10, 11]. Clade C includes only head lice and is mainly found in Africa and Asia [2, 5, 9, 10].…”

“…Clade C includes only head lice and is mainly found in Africa and Asia [2, 5, 9, 10]. Most recently, a novel clade D, comprising both head and body lice, was described in Democratic Republic of the Congo [6]. …”

“…They often cause intense itching and, in some cases, insomnia. As a result, they represent a major economic and social concern worldwide [6, 13, 14]. Body lice, unlike head lice, are nowadays less prevalent and tend to appear mainly in indigent individuals living in poor sanitary conditions [6, 9, 13].…”

“…As a result, they represent a major economic and social concern worldwide [6, 13, 14]. Body lice, unlike head lice, are nowadays less prevalent and tend to appear mainly in indigent individuals living in poor sanitary conditions [6, 9, 13]. They do, however, present a far more serious threat to public health because they transmit at least three deadly bacterial pathogens that have killed millions of peoples, namely: Rickettsia prowazekii , Bartonella quintana , and Borrelia recurrentis , responsible for epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever, respectively [5, 9, 13].…”