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Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger's refugees in Algeria.

ABSTRACT: 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.

SUBMITTER: Louni M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003154 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger's refugees in Algeria.

Louni Meriem M Amanzougaghene Nadia N Mana Nassima N Fenollar Florence F Raoult Didier D Bitam Idir I Mediannikov Oleg O

Parasites & vectors 20180615 1

<h4>Background</h4>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 Afr ...[more]

PMID: 29907122

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Pediculus humanus, which includes two ecotypes (body and head lice), is an obligate bloodsucking parasite that co-evolved with their human hosts over thousands of years, thus providing a valuable source of information to reconstruct the human migration. Pediculosis due to head lice occurred each year throughout the world and several pathogenic bacteria, which are usually associated with body lice, are increasingly detected in them. In Gabon, where this pediculosis is still widespread, there is a lack of data on genetic diversity of head lice and their associated bacteria. METHODS:This study aimed to investigate the phylogeny of head lice collected in Gabon and their associated bacteria, using molecular tools. Between 26 March and 11 April 2018, 691 head lice were collected from 86 women in Franceville. We studied the genetic diversity of these lice based on the cytochrome b gene, then we screened them for DNA of Bartonella quintana, Borrelia spp., Acinetobacter spp., Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia spp., R. prowazekii, Anaplasma spp. and C. burnetii, using real time or standard PCR and sequencing. RESULTS:Overall 74.6% of studied lice belonged to Clade A, 25.3% to Clade C and 0.1% to Clade E. The phylogenetic analysis of 344 head lice yielded 45 variable positions defining 13 different haplotypes from which 8 were novel. Bacterial screening revealed the presence of Borrelia spp. DNA in 3 (0.4%) of 691 head lice belonging to Clade A and infesting one individual. This Borrelia is close to B. theileri (GenBank: MN621894). Acinetobacter spp. DNA has been detected in 39 (25%) of the 156 screened lice; of these 13 (8.3%) corresponded to A. baumannii. Acinetobacter nosocomialis (n?=?2) and A. pittii (n?=?1) were also recorded. CONCLUSIONS:To of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the genetic diversity of head lice from Gabon. It appears that Clade C is the second most important clade in Gabon, after Clade A which is known to have a global distribution. The detection of Borrelia spp. DNA in these lice highlight the potential circulation of these bacteria in Gabon.

Project description:BackgroundThe head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is the most important ectoparasite causing many health problems. Several linkages are presented for this parasite, each representing a particular geographical distribution, prevalence rate, vector competence, susceptibility to pediculicides, and infestation rate. Determining the genetic nature of these linkages is necessary to identify the population structure and also to develop and monitor control programmes against head lice. This study was designed to analyse cox1 and cytb genes and determine the mitochondrial clades in head lice populations in the northwest of Iran.MethodsAdult head lice were collected from infested females of Ardabil, East and West Azerbaijan, and Zanjan Provinces from 2016 to 2018. Partial fragments of the mitochondrial genes cox1 and cytb were amplified by PCR and some of the amplicons were sequenced. All confirmed sequences were analysed, and the frequency of each mitochondrial clade was determined in the studied areas.ResultsA total of 6410 females were clinically examined, and 897 adult head lice were collected from 562 infested cases. Genomic DNA was extracted from 417 samples, and fragments of cox1 and cytb genes were amplified in 348 individuals. Analysis of the 116 sequences showed the 632-bp and 495-bp fragments for cox1 and cytb genes, respectively. The nucleotide and haplotype diversities of cytb and cox1 genes were 0.02261 and 0.589 and 0.01443 and 0.424, respectively. Sequence analysis indicated 6 haplotypes clustered in two clades, A and B. The relative prevalence of clade B was 73% for cytb and 82% for cox1 gene. Haplotypes of clade B were found in all the studied areas, while those of clade A were observed only in rural and suburban areas.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study investigated deeply the field populations of Pediculus and documented two clades in the Middle East. The considerable prevalence of pediculosis in the studied areas requires authorities' attention to establish effective control and preventive measures. Given the role of cytb in monitoring population groups, application of this marker is suggested for future epigenetic studies to evaluate the factors affecting the abundance of these clades.

Dataset Information

Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger's refugees in Algeria.

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Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger's refugees in Algeria.

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