01970nas a2200253   4500008004100000022001400041245008700055210006900142260001600211300000900227490000700236520122300243653001201466653001001478653001901488653000901507653001001516100002101526700002001547700002401567700002701591700002601618856007201644       2020                        eng d  a2214-250900aBody lice and bed bug co-infestation in an emergency department patient, Ohio, USA0 aBody lice and bed bug coinfestation in an emergency department p  cJan-01-2020  a4 pp0 v193 a<p>Body lice and bed bugs are hematophagous insects that parasitize humans. Body lice are established vectors of several bacterial pathogens (e.g. Bartonella quintana, Borrelia recurrentis). Bed bugs are biologically competent vectors of some of the same agents, but their vectorial capacity for these in nature is unclear. In particular, a lack of exposure to louse-borne pathogens in bed bugs in the field could be a factor that limits their contribution to transmission. Here, we describe a case of a patient seen in an urban emergency department who was suffering from infestation with both body lice and bed bugs. Insects were collected from the patient and tested for the presence of louse-borne bacterial pathogens using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Although no Bartonella, Borrelia, or Rickettsia were detected, this case provides evidence of ecological overlap between body lice and bed bugs and highlights several potential risk factors for co-infestation. The ecological relationships between bed bugs, body lice, and louse-borne bacteria should be further investigated in the field to determine the frequency of co-infestations and identify possible instances of pathogen infection in bed bugs.</p>
10aBed bug10aCimex10aCo-infestation10alice10alouse1 aPietri, Jose, E.1 aYax, Justin, A.1 aAgany, Diing, D. M.1 aGnimpieba, Etienne, Z.1 aSheele, Johnathan, M.  uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250920300044