Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND:Head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, occur in four divergent mitochondrial clades (A, B, C and D), each having particular geographical distributions. Recent studies suggest that head lice, as is the case of body lice, can act as a vector for louse-borne diseases. Therefore, understanding...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nadia Amanzougaghene, Jean Akiana, Géor Mongo Ndombe, Bernard Davoust, Nardiouf Sjelin Nsana, Henri-Joseph Parra, Florence Fenollar, Didier Raoult, Oleg Mediannikov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-12-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5135033?pdf=render
_version_ 1819160428890030080
author Nadia Amanzougaghene
Jean Akiana
Géor Mongo Ndombe
Bernard Davoust
Nardiouf Sjelin Nsana
Henri-Joseph Parra
Florence Fenollar
Didier Raoult
Oleg Mediannikov
author_facet Nadia Amanzougaghene
Jean Akiana
Géor Mongo Ndombe
Bernard Davoust
Nardiouf Sjelin Nsana
Henri-Joseph Parra
Florence Fenollar
Didier Raoult
Oleg Mediannikov
author_sort Nadia Amanzougaghene
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND:Head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, occur in four divergent mitochondrial clades (A, B, C and D), each having particular geographical distributions. Recent studies suggest that head lice, as is the case of body lice, can act as a vector for louse-borne diseases. Therefore, understanding the genetic diversity of lice worldwide is of critical importance to our understanding of the risk of louse-borne diseases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here, we report the results of the first molecular screening of pygmies' head lice in the Republic of Congo for seven pathogens and an analysis of lice mitochondrial clades. We developed two duplex clade-specific real-time PCRs and identified three major mitochondrial clades: A, C, and D indicating high diversity among the head lice studied. We identified the presence of a dangerous human pathogen, Borrelia recurrentis, the causative agent of relapsing fever, in ten clade A head lice, which was not reported in the Republic of Congo, and B. theileri in one head louse. The results also show widespread infection among head lice with several species of Acinetobacter. A. junii was the most prevalent, followed by A. ursingii, A. baumannii, A. johnsonii, A. schindleri, A. lwoffii, A. nosocomialis and A. towneri. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our study is the first to show the presence of B. recurrentis in African pygmies' head lice in the Republic of Congo. This study is also the first to report the presence of DNAs of B. theileri and several species of Acinetobacter in human head lice. Further studies are needed to determine whether the head lice can transmit these pathogenic bacteria from person to another.
first_indexed 2024-12-22T16:56:18Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2581b6ea101e4bfab7be84c003fdaaeb
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1935-2727
1935-2735
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-22T16:56:18Z
publishDate 2016-12-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
spelling doaj.art-2581b6ea101e4bfab7be84c003fdaaeb2022-12-21T18:19:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352016-12-011012e000514210.1371/journal.pntd.0005142Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.Nadia AmanzougagheneJean AkianaGéor Mongo NdombeBernard DavoustNardiouf Sjelin NsanaHenri-Joseph ParraFlorence FenollarDidier RaoultOleg MediannikovBACKGROUND:Head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, occur in four divergent mitochondrial clades (A, B, C and D), each having particular geographical distributions. Recent studies suggest that head lice, as is the case of body lice, can act as a vector for louse-borne diseases. Therefore, understanding the genetic diversity of lice worldwide is of critical importance to our understanding of the risk of louse-borne diseases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here, we report the results of the first molecular screening of pygmies' head lice in the Republic of Congo for seven pathogens and an analysis of lice mitochondrial clades. We developed two duplex clade-specific real-time PCRs and identified three major mitochondrial clades: A, C, and D indicating high diversity among the head lice studied. We identified the presence of a dangerous human pathogen, Borrelia recurrentis, the causative agent of relapsing fever, in ten clade A head lice, which was not reported in the Republic of Congo, and B. theileri in one head louse. The results also show widespread infection among head lice with several species of Acinetobacter. A. junii was the most prevalent, followed by A. ursingii, A. baumannii, A. johnsonii, A. schindleri, A. lwoffii, A. nosocomialis and A. towneri. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our study is the first to show the presence of B. recurrentis in African pygmies' head lice in the Republic of Congo. This study is also the first to report the presence of DNAs of B. theileri and several species of Acinetobacter in human head lice. Further studies are needed to determine whether the head lice can transmit these pathogenic bacteria from person to another.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5135033?pdf=render
spellingShingle Nadia Amanzougaghene
Jean Akiana
Géor Mongo Ndombe
Bernard Davoust
Nardiouf Sjelin Nsana
Henri-Joseph Parra
Florence Fenollar
Didier Raoult
Oleg Mediannikov
Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
title_full Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
title_fullStr Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
title_full_unstemmed Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
title_short Head Lice of Pygmies Reveal the Presence of Relapsing Fever Borreliae in the Republic of Congo.
title_sort head lice of pygmies reveal the presence of relapsing fever borreliae in the republic of congo
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5135033?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT nadiaamanzougaghene headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT jeanakiana headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT geormongondombe headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT bernarddavoust headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT nardioufsjelinnsana headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT henrijosephparra headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT florencefenollar headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT didierraoult headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo
AT olegmediannikov headliceofpygmiesrevealthepresenceofrelapsingfeverborreliaeintherepublicofcongo