Genetic diversity of human head lice and molecular detection of associated bacterial pathogens in Democratic Republic of Congo.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is an obligatory blood-sucking ectoparasite, distributed worldwide. Phylogenetically, it occurs in five divergent mitochondrial clades (A-E); each exhibiting a particular geographical distribution. Recent studies suggest that, as in the case of body louse, head louse could be a disease vector. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of head lice collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and to screen for louse-borne pathogens in these lice.

Methods

A total of 181 head lice were collected from 27 individuals at the Monkole Hospital Center located in Kinshasa. All head lice were genotyped and screened for the presence of louse-borne bacteria using molecular methods. We searched for Bartonella quintana, Borrel

SUBMITTER: Boumbanda Koyo CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6555951 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature