05630nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001300041245012300054210006900177260001200246300001000258490000700268520477800275653001305053653001205066653002205078653001905100100002605119700002305145700002105168700002005189700002105209700001405230700001905244700002205263856006705285 2019 eng d a1567134800aMitochondrial diversity and phylogeographic analysis of Pediculus humanus reveals a new Amazonian clade “F”0 aMitochondrial diversity and phylogeographic analysis of iPedicul c06-2019 a1 - 80 v703 a

Pediculus humanus is an obligate and highly intimate bloodsucking insect parasite of humans that has two ecotypes, head louse and body louse. This study analyzed genetic diversity at three mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b [cytb], cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 [cox1] and 12S ribosomal RNA [12S]) in 98 head lice collected from an isolated Native American population from the Wayampi community in Trois-Sauts, French Guiana. These results are integrated with all prior data of P. humanus (1402 cytb, 743 cox1 and 344 12S) from other parts of the world. The phylogenetic analysis revealed six highly divergent and well-supported monophyletic clades. Five clades corresponded to the previously recognized mitochondrial clades A, D, B, C and E, while the sixth (clade F) was novel, as it exhibited 5.4%, 3.7% and 3.6% divergence at cytb, cox1 and 12S, respectively, from its nearest neighbor clade B. Interestingly, the clade F has only been recovered in a few lice sequences from Mexico and Argentina, while it was the most common lineage in the Amazonian lice, which hints its association with the Native American region. Furthermore, Pediculus mjobergi, a New World monkeys' louse, which is thought to be transmitted to monkeys from the first humans that had reached the American continent thousands of years ago, also belonged to this clade, suggesting that this louse may not be a separate species but an evolutionary lineage of P. humanus. The discovery of new Amazonian clade F with the recovery of additional haplotypes within each of the five clades demonstrates that the levels of genetic diversity in P. humanus are higher than previously thought.

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2019.02.006

Figure  S1. (A)  Cytb  sequences  alignment  and  (B)  DNA  sequence  chromatograms  of clade F haplotypes identified in this study showing the polymorphic sites.

Figure  S2.  (A)  Cox1  sequences  alignment  and  (B)  DNA  sequence  chromatograms  of clade F haplotypes identified in this study showing the polymorphic sites. 

Figure S2.(A) 12S sequences alignment and (B) DNA sequence chromatograms of clade F haplotypes identified in this study showing the polymorphic sites.

Figure  S4.  (A)  12S  sequences  alignment  of  clade  F  haplotypes  and  (B)  12S  DNA sequence chromatogram of P. mjobergi amplified in this study.

Figure  S5.Maximum-likelihood  (ML)  analysis  of Cytb  (A), Cox1  (B)  and  12S  (C) haplotypes of Pediculushumanus. Bootstrap values (500 replicates) are shown above thebranches.  The  scale  bar  shows  K2P  distances.  The  node  for  each  clade  with  multiple haplotypes is collapsed to a vertical triangle, with the horizontal depth indicating the level of intra-clade divergence. Bracketed numbers next to each clade’s name indicate the number of haplotypes  analyzed  and  the  average  intra-clade  distance.  Analyses  were  conducted  in MEGA6.

Table  S1.  Additional  louse  specimens  included  in  this  study,  obtained  from  the  private  frozen collection of world lice belonging to our laboratory.

Table  S2.Pediculus  mjobergi  sequences  from  new  world  monkey  (Alouatta  caraya) included in this study. The cox1 and cytb P. mjobergi sequences analyzed in this study were those  reported  by  Drali  et  al.  (2016)  collected  from  two  monkey  individuals  B2188  and B1395.  The  12S  sequences  were  amplified  in  this  study  from  three P.  mjobergi  specimens from monkey individual B2188.

Table S3. Geographic occurrences and frequencies of cytb haplotypes of human head and body lice.

Table  S4.  Geographic  occurrences  and  frequencies  ofcox1  haplotypes  of  human  head and body lice

Table S5. Geographic occurrences and frequencies of 12S haplotypes of human head 576 and body lice.

Table  S6.  Distribution of  the  head  lice  haplotypes identified  in  this  study,  according  to mitochondrial genes, among the 22 infested Amazonian individuals.

10aAmazonia10aClade F10aGenetic diversity10aphylogeography1 aAmanzougaghene, Nadia1 aFenollar, Florence1 aDavoust, Bernard1 aDjossou, Félix1 aAshfaq, Muhammad1 aBITAM, I.1 aRaoult, Didier1 aMediannikov, Oleg uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S156713481830675006048nas a2200253 4500008004100000245007800041210007000119300001200189490000800201520525500209653001105464653001805475653000905493653003205502100002605534700001405560700001805574700002305592700001805615700002605633700001705659700002705676856009105703 2015 eng d00aContribution à la connaissance des ectoparasites d’oiseaux en Algérie0 aContribution à la connaissance des ectoparasites d oiseaux en Al a81 - 980 v1403 a

Paper in French

Le but de cette étude est d’évaluer la faune ectoparasite des oiseaux synanthro-pes et sauvages de cinq régions du nord de  l’Algérie. Les collectes comprennent 12 espè-ces d’oiseaux : Goéland leucophée (Larus michahellis), Chardonneret (Carduelis car-duelis), Merle noir (Turdus merula), Pigeon biset (Columba livia), Rossignol philomèle(Luscinia megarhynchos), Perdrix choukar  (Alectoris chukar), Gobemouche gris(Muscicapa striata), Mésange bleue (Cyanistes caeruleus), Pigeon ramier  (Columbapalumbus), Rousserolle effarvatte (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Poule-d’eau (Gallinulachloropus) et Fuligule nyroca  (Aythya nyroca). Les pourcentages des différents ectopa-rasites collectés sont les suivants : acariens mésostigmates (71 %), Ixodida (23 %),Mallophaga (3 %), Hemiptera Cimicidae (2 %) et Siphonaptera (1 %). Les identifica-tions morphologiques,  confirmées dans certains cas par une identification moléculairedu gène mitochondrial ARNr 16S obtenu par réaction de  polymérase en chaîne (PCR),ont mis en évidence 8 espèces : Carios capensis(Argasidae), Hyalomma marginatum  marginatum(Ixodidae), Oeciacus hirundinis(Cimicidae), Menacanthus stramineus(Mallophaga, Monoponidae), Columbicola columbae(Mallophaga, Philoptridae),Dermanyssus gallinaeet Dermanyssussp. (Dermanyssidae) et Dasypsyllus  gallinulae(Siphonaptera, Ceratophyllidae). L’intensité et l’abondance de ces ectoparasites ainsique leur rôle vecteur connu sont discutés et nous avons créé un indice permettant demesurer le risque d’exposition des populations humaines adjacentes.

Mots-clés: ectoparasites ; nids ; oiseaux sauvages, synanthropes, Algérie.

English title: Contribution to the knowledge of bird ectoparasites in Algeria

Abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the ectoparasitic fauna from synanthropicand wild birds from five regions of North Algeria. Collections were made from 12 birdspecies: Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis),Blackbird (Turdus merula), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar), Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata),Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), Reed Warbler(Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca). The percentages of ectoparasites collected are: mesostigmaticAcarina 71%, Ixodida 23%, Mallophaga 3%, Hemiptera Cimicidae 2% andSiphonaptera 1%. The morphological identifications, confirmed in part by molecularidentification using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene obtained by polymerase chainreaction (PCR), showed 8 species: Carios capensis (Ixodida, Argasidae), Hyalommamarginatum marginatum (Ixodida, Ixodidae), Oeciacus hirundinis (Hemiptera,Cimicidae), Menacanthus stramineus (Mallophaga, Monoponidae), Columbicola columbae (Mallophaga, Philoptridae), Dermanyssus gallinaeand Dermanyssussp (Mesostimata, Dermanyssidae) and Dasypsyllus gallinulae (Siphonaptera,Ceratophyllidae). Prevalence, intensity and abundance of these ectoparasites, as well astheir potential role as vectors, are discussed and an index is proposed to measure the riskof exposure for adjacent human population

10aAlgeri10aectoparasites10anest10awild and synanthropic birds1 aBaziz-Neffah, Fadhila1 aBITAM, I.1 aKernif, Tahar1 aBeneldjouzi, Assia1 aBOUTELLIS, A.1 aBerenger, Jean-michel1 aZenia, Safia1 aDoumandji, Salaheddine uhttps://societe-zoologique.fr/sites/default/files/revue/2016-10/Z140-2-BazizNeffah.pdf02090nas a2200325 4500008004100000022001300041245008800054210006900142260001200211300001400223490000700237520119600244653001401440653001501454653001001469653000901479653001601488653001301504653001001517653001801527653001001545100002201555700002601577700002101603700001701624700001401641700002101655700002101676856006701697 2018 eng d a2052297500aNeglected vector-borne bacterial diseases and arboviruses in the Mediterranean area0 aNeglected vectorborne bacterial diseases and arboviruses in the  c11-2018 aS31 - S360 v263 a

Arthropod vectors can transmit pathogenic microorganisms from one vertebrate to another during their blood meal. Although some vector- borne diseases have been eradicated in the Mediterranean area, such as malaria and dengue, recent endemic microorganisms (Toscana virus, Rickettsia spp.) remain neglected even though they cause many more cases. New diagnostic tools and innovative tools for the identification and characterization of vector species and microorganisms have been developed at IHU Méditerranée Infection, either internally or through collaborative and integrated projects. We have detected Rickettsia slovaca as a human pathogen and have described the disease; we have shown that Rickettsia felis can be transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes; we have emphasized the increasing importance of bedbug (Cimex lectularius) as a potential vector of Bartonella quintana; and we have described the Toscana virus, a major agent of meningitis and meningoencephalitis which was disseminated in North Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, where it frequently cocirculates with a large number of newly described phleboviruses transmitted by sand flies.

 

10aarbovirus10aarthropods10afleas10alice10aphlebovirus10asand fly10aticks10aToscana virus10avirus1 aCharrel, Remi, N.1 aBerenger, Jean-michel1 aLaroche, Maureen1 aAyhan, Nazli1 aBITAM, I.1 aDelaunay, Pascal1 aParola, Phillipe uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S205229751830075101161nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001300041245010200054210006900156260001400225300001200239490000700251520050900258653001200767653001100779653001400790100002000804700001800824700001400842700002000856856006700876 2018 eng d a2052297500aMolecular evidence of Rickettsia slovaca in spleen of wild boars in northeastern Algeria0 aMolecular evidence of iRickettsia slovacai in spleen of wild boa cJuly 2018 a17 - 200 v243 a

Using molecular assays, Rickettsia slovaca, the agent of a spotted fever group rickettsiosis resulting in scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite, was assessed in 92 spleens recovered from 117 wild boars hunted in the far northeast of Algeria. Rickettsia slovaca was detected in 5.4% of tested wild boar spleens. The presence of R. slovaca DNA in boar spleens questions the relationship that may exist between this bacterium and Sus scrofa algira, and its role in human infections.

10aAlgeria10aspleen10aWild boar1 aZeroual, Faycal1 aLeulmi, Hamza1 aBITAM, I.1 aBenakhla, Ahmed uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S205229751830028303521nas a2200301 4500008004100000245010300041210006900144260001300213300001000226490000700236520259400243653002302837653001202860653002202872653001402894653002302908653002302931653002702954653001802981100001802999700002603017700001303043700002303056700001903079700001403098700002203112856008503134 2018 eng d00aDetection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger’s refugees in Algeria0 aDetection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected  cJun 2018 a11 pp0 v113 a

Background: Head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, are obligate blood-sucking parasites. Phylogenetically, they occur in five divergent mitochondrial clades (A, D, B, C and E), each having a particular geographical distribution. Recent studies have revealed that head lice, as is the case of body lice, can act as a vector for louse-borne diseases. Here, we aimed to study the genetic diversity of head lice collected from Niger’s refugees (migrant population) arriving in Algeria, northern Africa, and to look for louse-borne pathogens. Comparative head lice samples collected from indigenous population of schoolchildren (non-immigrant) were also analyzed to frame the study.
Results: In this study, 37 head lice samples were collected from 31 Nigerien refugees, as well as 45 head lice from 27 schoolchildren. The collection was established in three localities of eastern Algiers, north Algeria. Quantitative real-time PCR screening of pathogens bacteria and the genetic characterisation of the head lice satut were performed. Through amplification and sequencing of the cytb gene, results showed that all head lice of Nigerien refugees 37/82 (45.12%) belonged to clade E with the presence of four new haplotypes, while, of the 45 head lice of schoolchildren, 34/82 lice (41.46%) belonged to clade A and 11/82 (13.41%) belonged to clade B. Our study is the first to report the existence of clade E haplogroup in Nigerien head lice. DNA of Coxiella burnetii was detected in 3/37 (8.10%) of the head lice collected from 3 of the 31 (9.67%) migrant population. We also revealed the presence of Acinetobacter DNA in 20/37 (54.05%) of head lice collected from 25/31 (80.64%) of the Nigerien refugees, and in 25/45 (55.55%) head lice collected from 15/27 (55.55%) schoolchildren. All positive Nigerien-head lice for Acinetobacter spp. were identified as A. baumannii, while positive schoolchildren-head lice were identified as A. johnsonii 15/25 (60%), A. variabilis 8/25 (32%) and A. baumannii 2/25 (8%).
Conclusions: Based on these findings from head lice collected on migrant and non-migrant population, our results show, for the first time, that head lice from Niger belong to haplogroup E, and confirm that the clade E had a west African distribution. We also detected, for the first time, the presence of C. burnetii and A. baumannii in these Nigerien head lice. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to determine whether the head lice can transmit these pathogenic bacteria from one person to another.

10aAcinetobacter spp.10aAlgeria10aCoxiella burnetii10ahead lice10aMigrant population10aNiger’s refugees10aNon-migrant population10aScholchildren1 aLouni, Meriem1 aAmanzougaghene, Nadia1 aMANA, N.1 aFenollar, Florence1 aRaoult, Didier1 aBITAM, I.1 aMediannikov, Oleg uhttps://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-018-2930-504779nas a2200313 4500008004100000245011300041210006900154260001700223300001300240490000700253520383600260653001204096653003004108653002404138653001404162653002204176653001404198653002504212100001804237700001304255700001404268700002204282700002104304700002304325700001904348700002204367700002304389856005304412 2018 eng d00aBody lice of homeless people reveal the presence of several emerging bacterial pathogens in northern Algeria0 aBody lice of homeless people reveal the presence of several emer c17 April 018 ae00063970 v123 a

Author summary
Head lice, Pediculus h. capitis, and body lice, Pediculus h. humanus, are obligatory blood- sucking ectoparasites. The body lice occur in two divergent mitochondrial clades (A and D) each exhibiting a particular geographic distribution. Currently, the body louse is the only recognized vector for louse-borne diseases. In this work, we aimed to study the genetic diversity of body lice collected from homeless individuals in Algeria and to investi- gate louse-borne pathogens in these lice. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to show the presence of Bartonella quintana, Coxiella burnetii, Anaplasma phagocyto- philum and several species of Acinetobacter in human body lice from Algeria. These find- ings should strongly encourage further epidemiological investigations and surveys of louse-associated infections, and better understanding of the role of body lice as a broader vector of several bacterial pathogens in humans than previously reported in the literature.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Human lice, Pediculus humanus, are obligate blood-sucking parasites. Body lice, Pediculus h. humanus, occur in two divergent mitochondrial clades (A and D) each exhibiting a particular geographic distribution. Currently, the body louse is recognized as the only vector for louse-borne diseases. In this study, we aimed to study the genetic diversity of body lice collected from homeless populations in three localities of northern Algeria, and to investigate louse-borne pathogens in these lice.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:
In this study, 524 body lice specimens were collected from 44 homeless people in three localities: Algiers, Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdès located in northern Algeria. Duplex clade specific real-time PCRs (qPCR) and Cytochrome b (cytb) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis were performed in order to identify the mitochondrial clade. Screening of louse-borne pathogens bacteria was based on targeting specific genes for each pathogen using qPCR supplemented by sequencing. All body lice belong to clade A. Through amplification and sequencing of the cytb gene we confirmed the presence of three haplotypes: A5, A9 and A63, which is novel. The molecular investigation of the 524 body lice samples revealed the presence of four human pathogens: Bartonella quintana (13.35%), Coxiella burnetii (10.52%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.76%) and Acinetobacter species (A. baumannii, A. johnsonii, A. berezeniae, A. nosocomialis and A. variabilis, in total 46.94%).
 

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:
To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to show the genetic diversity and presence of several emerging pathogenic bacteria in homeless' body lice from Algeria. We also report for the first time, the presence of several species of Acinetobacter in human body lice. Our results highlight the fact that body lice may be suspected as being a much broader vector of several pathogenic agents than previously thought. Nevertheless, other studies are needed to encourage epidemiological investigations and surveys of louse-associated infections.

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/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0010979 or https://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/node/96443

10aAlgeria10aAnaplasma phagocytophilum10abartonella quintana10abody lice10aCoxiella burnetii10ahead lice10amitochondrial clades1 aLouni, Meriem1 aMANA, N.1 aBITAM, I.1 aDahmani, Mustapha1 aParola, Phillipe1 aFenollar, Florence1 aRaoult, Didier1 aMediannikov, Oleg1 aVinetz, Joseph, M. uhttps://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.000639701740nas a2200253 4500008004100000245009000041210006900131260001600200300001200216490000700228520098300235653001201218653001201230653001301242653003001255653001801285653001401303100001801317700001401335700001401349700001301363700001901376856009101395 2015 eng d00aEvidence that clade A and clade B head lice live in sympatry and recombine in Algeria0 aEvidence that clade A and clade B head lice live in sympatry and cJan-03-2015 a94 - 980 v293 a

Pediculus humanus L. (Psocodea: Pediculidae) can be characterized into three deeply divergent lineages (clades) based on mitochondrial DNA. Clade A consists of both head lice and clothing lice and is distributed worldwide. Clade B consists of head lice only and is mainly found in North and Central America, and in western Europe and Australia. Clade C, which consists only of head lice, is found in Ethiopia, Nepal and Senegal. Twenty-six head lice collected from pupils at different elementary schools in two localities in Algiers (Algeria) were analysed using molecular methods for genotyping lice (cytochrome b and the multi-spacer typing (MST) method. For the first time, we found clade B head lice in Africa living in sympatry with clade A head lice. The phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated sequences of these populations of head lice showed that clade A and clade B head lice had recombined, suggesting that interbreeding occurs when lice live in sympatry.

10aclade A10aclade B10aGenotype10aPediculus humanus capitis10arecombination10asympatry.1 aBOUTELLIS, A.1 aBITAM, I.1 aFEKIR, K.1 aMANA, N.1 aRaoult, Didier uhttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/mve.2015.29.issue-1http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/mve.12058