@article {46043, title = {Detection of Rickettsia prowazekii in body lice and their feces by using monoclonal antibodies}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Microbiology}, volume = {40}, year = {2002}, month = {2002}, pages = {3358 - 3363}, abstract = {

In order to identify Rickettsia prowazekii in lice, we developed a panel of 29 representative monoclonal antibodies selected from 187 positive hybridomas made by fusing splenocytes of immunized mice with SP2/0-Ag14 myeloma cells. Immunoblotting revealed that 15 monoclonal antibodies reacted with the lipopolysaccharide-like (LPS-L) antigen and 14 reacted with the epitopes of a 120-kDa protein. Only typhus group rickettsiae reacted with the monoclonal antibodies against LPS-L. R. felis, a recently identified rickettsial species, did not react with these monoclonal antibodies, confirming that it is not antigenically related to the typhus group. Monoclonal antibodies against the 120-kDa protein were highly specific for R. prowazekii. We successfully applied a selected monoclonal antibody against the 120-kDa protein to detect by immunofluorescence assay R. prowazekii in smears from 56 wild and laboratory lice, as well as in 10 samples of louse feces infected or not infected with the organism. We have developed a simple, practical, and specific diagnostic assay for clinical specimens and large-scale epidemiological surveys with a sensitivity of 91\%. These monoclonal antibodies could be added to the rickettsial diagnostic panel and be used to differentiate R. prowazekii from other rickettsial species.

}, keywords = {animals, Antibodies, Bacterial/biosynthesis/diagnostic use/immunology, Antibodies, Monoclonal/biosynthesis/diagnostic use/immunology, Antibody Specificity, Blotting, Western, electrophoresis, Feces/microbiology, mice, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Pediculus, Rickettsia prowazekii/immunology/isolation \& purification}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/44853.pdf}, author = {Fang,Rong and Houhamdi,Linda and Didier Raoult} } @article {46036, title = {First molecular evidence of new Bartonella spp. in fleas and a tick from Peru}, journal = {American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, volume = {67}, year = {2002}, note = {LR: 20041117; JID: 0370507; 0 (DNA, Bacterial); 0 (DNA, Intergenic); CIN: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002 Aug;67(2):133-4. PMID: 12389934; ppublish}, month = {2002}, pages = {135 - 136}, address = {United States}, abstract = {

Fleas, lice, and ticks collected in Peru in a suburban area of Cusco in November 1998 were tested by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of Bartonella DNA using primers amplifying a fragment of the intergenic spacer region (ITS) gene. Three new Bartonella genotypes were detected in Pulex fleas self-collected from the beds and clothes of schoolchildren and adults. A fourth new genotype was also detected from a tick found on a sheep in the same area. One of the genotypes is closely related to B. vinsoni subsp. berkhoffii, and the others seem to originate from unknown Bartonella species, whose medical importance has yet to be clarified.

}, keywords = {animals, Bartonella/classification/isolation \& purification, Disease Vectors, dna, Dog Diseases, Fleas/microbiology, genes, Genotype, humans, Lice/microbiology, Peru, Phylogeny, polymerase, sheep, Swine, Ticks/microbiology}, isbn = {0002-9637}, url = {http://www.ajtmh.org/docserver/fulltext/14761645/67/2/12389935.pdf?expires=1558007697\&id=id\&accname=guest\&checksum=E54B1F2214DEDD05FAEB8D81B77F4D07}, author = {Parola,Phillipe and Shpynov,S. and Montoya,M. and Lopez,M. and Houpikian,P. and Zeaiter,Z. and Guerra,H. and Didier Raoult} } @article {46030, title = {An experimental model of human body louse infection with Rickettsia prowazekii}, journal = {Journal of Infectious Diseases}, volume = {186}, year = {2002}, note = {LR: 20041117; DEP: 20021111; JID: 0413675; 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents); 564-25-0 (Doxycycline); 2002/04/11 [received]; 2002/08/15 [revised]; 2002/11/11 [aheadofprint]; ppublish}, month = {2002}, pages = {1639 - 1646}, address = {United States}, abstract = {

Rickettsia prowazekii is transmitted to humans by the body louse. A new experimental model of body louse infection with R. prowazekii is reported here. Eight hundred human lice were infected by feeding on a rabbit that was made bacteremic by injecting 2x106 plaque-forming units of R. prowazekii. The bacterium invaded the stomach cells and was released in feces, in which it was detected 5 days after infection. At day 6 after infection, as a result of the cell burst and the spread of erythrocytes in the hemolymph, the louse became bright red and died within 4 h. The life span of infected lice was shortened by 20-23 days, compared with that of uninfected control lice. Infected lice did not transmit R. prowazekii to their progeny. Through cell culture, rickettsiae were cultivated from fecal samples up to 10 days after their emission. The administration of doxycycline to the rabbit during louse feeding did not cure lice from R. prowazekii infection.

}, keywords = {animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration \& dosage, digestion, Doxycycline, Feces/parasitology, humans, lice infestations, Microscopy, Confocal, Models, Animal, Pediculus, Rabbit, Rickettsia prowazekii/growth \& development/isolation \& purification/pathogenicity, typhus}, isbn = {0022-1899}, author = {Houhamdi,Linda and Pierre-Edouard Fournier and Fang,R. and Lepidi,H. and Didier Raoult} } @article {46022, title = {Human pathogens in body and head lice}, journal = {Emerging Infectious Diseases}, volume = {8}, year = {2002}, note = {LR: 20041117; JID: 9508155; RF: 17; ppublish}, month = {2002}, pages = {1515 - 1518}, address = {United States}, abstract = {

Using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing, we investigated the prevalence of Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis in 841 body lice collected from various countries. We detected R. prowazekii in body lice from Burundi in 1997 and in lice from Burundi and Rwanda in 2001; B. quintana infections of body lice were widespread. We did not detect B. recurrentis in any lice.

}, keywords = {animals, Bartonella quintana/genetics/isolation \& purification/pathogenicity, Crowding, Disease Outbreaks, humans, Pediculus, polymerase, Prevalence, Rickettsia prowazekii/genetics/isolation \& purification/pathogenicity, trench fever, typhus}, isbn = {1080-6040}, url = {http://phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/46022.pdf}, author = {Pierre-Edouard Fournier and Ndihokubwayo,J. B. and Guidran,J. and Kelly,P. J. and Didier Raoult} }