| Abstract: | 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
|
