@article {96268, title = {High Genetic Diversity and Rickettsia felis in Pediculus humanus Lice Infesting Mbuti (pygmy people), -Democratic Republic of Congo}, journal = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, volume = {12}, year = {2022}, month = {Mar-02-2022}, pages = {10 pp}, type = {Open Access}, abstract = {

Pediculus humanus is an obligate bloodsucking parasite of humans that has two ecotypes, the head louse and the body louse, which share an intimate history of coevolution with their human host. In the present work, we obtained and analysed head and body lice collected from Mbuti pygmies living in the Orientale province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cytochrome b DNA analysis was performed in order to type the six known lice clades (A, D, B, F, C and E). The results revealed the presence of two mitochondrial clades. Clade D was the most frequent (61.7\% of 47), followed by clade A (38.3\% of 47). Sixteen haplotypes were found in 47 samples, of which thirteen were novel haplotypes, indicating an unusually high genetic diversity that closely mirrors the diversity of their hosts. Moreover, we report for the first time the presence of the DNA of R. felis in three (6.4\% of 47) head and body lice belonging to both clades A and D. Additional studies are needed to clarify whether the Pediculus lice can indeed transmit this emerging zoonotic bacterium to their human hosts.

}, keywords = {Democratic Republic of Congo, Genetic diversity, Mbuti pygmies, Rickettsia felis}, issn = {2235-2988}, doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2022.834388}, url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.834388/full}, author = {Nadia Amanzougaghene and Rezak Drali and Jean-Christophe Shako and Bernard Davoust and Florence Fenollar and Didier Raoult and Oleg Mediannikov} } @article {94807, title = {Evidence of Sympatry of Clade A and Clade B Head Lice in a Pre-Columbian Chilean Mummy from Camarones}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, month = {10-2015}, pages = {e76818}, type = {Open Access}, abstract = {

Three different lineages of head lice are known to parasitize humans. Clade A, which is currently worldwide in distribution, was previously demonstrated to be present in the Americas before the time of Columbus. The two other types of head lice are geographically restricted to America and Australia for clade B and to Africa and Asia for clade C. In this study, we tested two operculated nits from a 4,000-year-old Chilean mummy of Camarones for the presence of the partial Cytb mitochondrial gene (270 bp). Our finding shows that clade B head lice were present in America before the arrival of the European colonists.

}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0076818}, url = {http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076818}, author = {BOUTELLIS, A. and Rezak Drali and Rivera,Mario A. and Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu and Didier Raoult} } @article {94368, title = {A New Clade of African Body and Head Lice Infected by Bartonella quintana and Yersinia pestis{\textemdash}Democratic Republic of the Congo}, journal = {The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, volume = {93}, year = {2015}, month = {Apr-11-2015}, pages = {990 - 993}, abstract = {

The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases\—specifically, epi- demic 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.

}, keywords = {bartonella quintana, Congo, mitochondrial clade, Yersinia pestis}, issn = {0002-9637}, doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.14-0686}, url = {http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.14-0686}, author = {Rezak Drali and Bernard Davoust and Jean-Christophe Shako and Didier Raoult and Georges Diatta} } @article {94364, title = {Human Lice in Paleoentomology and Paleomicrobiology}, journal = {Microbiology Spectrum}, volume = {4}, year = {2016}, month = {Jun-08-2017}, pages = {8 pp}, abstract = {

Lice are a classic example of cospeciation.\ Human lice confirm this cospeciation with lice specialized in hominids which differ from those of gorillas and chimpanzees. Head lice and body lice seem to belong to closely related species with different ecotypes and a different geographical distribution which may reflect population movements. Paleo-entomology allows us in some cases to trace the migrations of archaic human populations. The analysis of lice found on mummies in Egypt and South America has clarified a certain number of these migrations, also the study of lice and the diseases they transmit has shed a new light on the epidemics of the past.

}, doi = {10.1128/microbiolspec.PoH-0005-2014}, url = {http://www.asmscience.org/content/journal/microbiolspec/10.1128/microbiolspec.PoH-0005-2014}, author = {Rezak Drali and Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu and Didier Raoult} } @article {94363, title = {Host switching of human lice to new world monkeys in South America}, journal = {Infection, Genetics and Evolution}, volume = {39}, year = {2016}, month = {Jan-04-2016}, pages = {225 - 231}, abstract = {

The coevolution between a host and its obligate parasite is exemplified in the sucking lice that infest primates. In the context of close lice\–host partnerships and cospeciation, Pediculus mjobergi, the louse of New World primates, has long been puzzling because its morphology resembles that of human lice. To investigate the possibility that P. mjobergi was transmitted to monkeys from the first humans who set foot on the American continent thousands of years ago, we obtained and compared P. mjobergi lice collected from howler monkeys from Argentina to human lice gathered from a remote and isolated village in Amazonia that has escaped globalization. Morphological examinations were first conducted and verified the similarity between the monkey and human lice. The molecular characterization of several nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers in the two types of lice revealed that one of the P. mjobergi specimens had a unique haplotype that clustered with the haplotypes of Amazonian head lice that are prevalent in tropical regions in the Americas, a natural habitat of New World monkeys. Because this phylogenetic group forms a separate branch within the clade of lice from humans that were of American origin, this finding indicates that human lice have transferred to New World monkeys.

}, keywords = {Amazonian head louse, co-speciation, host-switching}, issn = {15671348}, doi = {10.1016/j.meegid.2016.02.008}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1567134816300399}, author = {Rezak Drali and Abi-Rached, Laurent and BOUTELLIS, A. and F{\'e}lix Djossou and Stephen C. Barker and Didier Raoult} } @article {94246, title = {Distinguishing Body Lice from Head Lice by Multiplex Real-Time PCR Analysis of the Phum_PHUM540560 Gene}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, month = {Apr-02-2015}, pages = {e58088}, abstract = {

Abstract
Background: Body louse or head louse? Once removed from their environment, body and head lice are indistinguishable. Neither the morphological criteria used since the mid-18th century nor the various genetic studies conducted since the advent of molecular biology tools have allowed body lice and head lice to be differentiated. In this work, using a portion of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene from the body louse, we aimed to develop a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to differentiate between body and head lice in a single reaction.


Materials and Methods: A total of 142 human lice were collected from mono-infested hosts from 13 countries on five continents. We first identified the louse clade using a cytochrome b (CYTB) PCR sequence alignment. We then aligned a fragment of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene amplified from head and body lice to design-specific TaqMan\ß FAM- and VIC- labeled probes.


Results: All the analyzed lice were Clade A lice. A total of 22 polymorphisms between the body and head lice were characterized. The multiplex real-time PCR analysis enabled the body and head lice to be distinguished in two hours. This method is simple, with 100\% specificity and sensitivity.


Conclusions: We confirmed that the Phum_PHUM540560 gene is a useful genetic marker for the study of lice.

Dec 2022- This article has been identified as one of a series of submissions for which we have concerns about the reported research ethics approval information and the article\’s adherence to PLOS research ethics policies.

PLOS will be investigating these concerns in accordance with COPE guidance and journal policies. Meanwhile, the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Editors issue this Expression of Concern see https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0278004 or https://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/node/96447

}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0058088}, url = {http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058088}, author = {Rezak Drali and BOUTELLIS, A. and Didier Raoult and Jean-Marc Rolain and Brouqui,Philippe}, editor = {Aziz, Ramy K.} } @article {68947, title = {Studies of Ancient Lice Reveal Unsuspected Past Migrations of Vectors}, journal = {American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, volume = {93}, year = {2015}, month = {Mar-27-2015}, pages = {623 - 625}, abstract = {

Lice are among the oldest parasites of humans representing an excellent marker of the evolution and migration of our species over time. Here, we analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) developed in this study the mitochondrial DNA of seven ancient head louse eggs found on hair remains recovered from two sites in Israel: 1) five nits dating from Chalcolithic period (4,000 bc) were found in the Cave of the Treasure located at Nahal Mishmar, in the Judean Desert and 2) two nits dating from Early Islamic Period (ad 650-810) were found in Nahal Omer in the Arava Valley (between Dead Sea and Red Sea). Our results suggest that these eggs belonged to people originating from west Africa based on identification of the louse mitochondrial sub-clade specific to that region.

}, keywords = {lice, vectors}, issn = {0002-9637}, doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.14-0552}, url = {http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.14-0552}, author = {Rezak Drali and Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu and Gonca Yesilyurt and Didier Raoult} }