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A New Clade of African Body and Head Lice Infected by Bartonella quintana and Yersinia pestis-Democratic Republic of the Congo.

ABSTRACT: The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases-specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively-that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondrial clades: A, B, and C. Here, we describe a fourth mitochondrial clade, Clade D, comprising head and body lice. Clade D may be a vector of B. quintana and Y. pestis, which is prevalent in a highly plague-endemic area near the Rethy Health District, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

SUBMITTER: Drali R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4703253 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A New Clade of African Body and Head Lice Infected by Bartonella quintana and Yersinia pestis-Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Drali Rezak R Shako Jean-Christophe JC Davoust Bernard B Diatta Georges G Raoult Didier D

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 20150921 5

The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases-specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively-that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondri ...[more]

PMID: 26392158

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