03102nas a2200325 4500008004100000022002500041245009600066210006900162260001500231300001400246490000700260520213600267653002002403653002302423653001102446653001402457653002302471100002002494700001802514700002302532700002002555700001802575700002102593700002002614700001902634700002302653700001902676700002202695856005902717 2023 eng d a1058-4838, 1537-659100aBartonella quintana Transmitted by Head Lice: An Outbreak of Trench Fever in Senegal0 aiBartonella quintanai Transmitted by Head Lice An Outbreak of Tr cApril 2023 a1382-13900 v763 a

Background Louse-borne trench fever caused by Bartonella quintana is a neglected public health concern, known to be transmitted from body louse feces via scratching. No viable B. quintana have ever been isolated from head lice before; therefore, their role as a vector is still poorly understood.

Methods In Senegal, the implementation of a permanent local surveillance system in a point-of-care laboratory (POC) allows the monitoring of emerging diseases. Here we used culture as well as molecular and genomic approaches to document an outbreak of trench fever associated with head lice in the village of Ndiop. Head lice and blood samples were collected from febrile patients between November 2010 and April 2015. Genomes of 2 isolated strains of B. quintana were sequenced and analyzed.

Results A total of 2289 blood samples were collected in the 2010–2015 period. From 2010–2013, B. quintana DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 0.25% (4/1580). In 2014, 228 blood samples were collected, along with 161 head lice from 5 individuals. B. quintana DNA was detected in 4.4% (10/228) of blood samples, and in lice specimens collected from febrile patients (61.7%, 50/81) and non-febrile patients (61.4%, 43/70). Two B. quintana strains were isolated from blood and head lice from 2 different patients. Genomic sequence analysis showed 99.98% overall similarity between both strains.

Conclusions The presence of live B. quintana in head lice, and the genetic identity of strains from patients’ blood and head lice during a localized outbreak in Senegal, supports the evidence of head lice vectorial capacity.

10a; blood samples10aBartonella quintan10agenome10ahead lice10amolecular analysis1 aHammoud, Alissa1 aLouni, Meriem1 aFenollar, Florence1 aBassene, Hubert1 aSambou, Masse1 aDuclos, Nathalie1 aDiatta, Georges1 aSokhna, Cheikh1 aLevasseur, Anthony1 aRaoult, Didier1 aMediannikov, Oleg uhttps://academic.oup.com/cid/article/76/8/1382/696080602062nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001300041245008900054210006900143260001200212300001400224490000700238520128900245653001001534653001401544653001501558653001501573653001201588100002601600700002301626700002001649700001901669700001901688700002201707856006701729 2018 eng d a0924857900aMutations in GluCl associated with field ivermectin-resistant head lice from Senegal0 aMutations in GluCl associated with field ivermectinresistant hea c11-2018 a593 - 5980 v523 a

Through its unique mode of action, ivermectin represents a relatively new and very promising tool to fight against human lice, especially in cases of resistance to commonly used pediculicides. However, iver- mectin resistance in the field has already begun to be reported. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms involved is a key step in delaying and tackling this phenomenon.
In this study, field head lice with confirmed clinical resistance to ivermectin in rural human popu- lations from Senegal were subjected to genetic analysis targeting the GluCl gene, the primary target of ivermectin known to be involved in resistance. Through DNA-polymorphism analysis, three relevant non- synonymous mutations in GluCl which were found only in ivermectin-resistant head lice (76 head lice tested), were identified. The A251V mutation found in the TM3 transmembrane domain was the most prevalent (allelic frequency of 0.33), followed by the S46P mutation (0.28) located at the N-terminal ex- tracellular domain. The H272R was in the M3–M4 linker transmembrane region of GluCl and has shown the lowest frequency (0.18). Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR- RFLP) diagnostic assays were also developed for their accurate genotyping.

10aGluCL10ahead lice10aIvermectin10aresistance10aSenegal1 aAmanzougaghene, Nadia1 aFenollar, Florence1 aDiatta, Georges1 aSokhna, Cheikh1 aRaoult, Didier1 aMediannikov, Oleg uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0924857918301961