@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 {94371, title = {Plague epidemics and Lice, Democratic Republic of the Congo}, journal = {Emerging Infectious Diseases}, volume = {19}, year = {2013}, pages = {505 - 506}, keywords = {Democratic Republic of the Congo, lice, plague, Yersinia pestis}, url = {http://phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/94371.pdf}, author = {Renaud Piarroux and Aaron Aruna Abedi and Jean-Christophe Shako and Benoit Kebela and Stomy Karhemere and Georges Diatta and Bernard Davoust and Didier Raoult and Michel Drancourt} } @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.} }