Bartonella quintana in Ethiopian lice

Abstract Head and clothing lice from Jimma, Ethiopia were investigated for pathogenic bacteria. Genomic DNA from pools of lice was subjected to PCR analysis for Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. Coxiella burnetii , Rickettsia spp. and Yersinia pestis . All 102 lice pools were negative for the afore men...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases microbiology and infectious diseases, 2012-01, Vol.35 (1), p.17-21
Main Authors: Cutler, Sally, Abdissa, Alemseged, Adamu, Haileeysus, Tolosa, Tadele, Gashaw, Abebaw
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allergy and Immunology
Animals
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Bacteriology
Bartonella
Bartonella quintana
Bartonella quintana - classification
Bartonella quintana - genetics
Bartonella quintana - isolation & purification
Biological and medical sciences
Borrelia
Coxiella
Coxiella burnetii
DNA, Bacterial - classification
DNA, Bacterial - genetics
DNA, Bacterial - isolation & purification
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
Ethiopia
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Homeless Persons
Human lice
Humans
Infectious Disease
Lice Infestations - microbiology
Microbiology
Miscellaneous
Pediculus - microbiology
Pediculus humanus corpus
Pediculus humanus humanus
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Rickettsia
Rickettsia spp
Yersinia pestis
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Summary:Abstract Head and clothing lice from Jimma, Ethiopia were investigated for pathogenic bacteria. Genomic DNA from pools of lice was subjected to PCR analysis for Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. Coxiella burnetii , Rickettsia spp. and Yersinia pestis . All 102 lice pools were negative for the afore mentioned pathogens, with the exception of Bartonella species found among 6 of 65 (9.2%) head lice pools and1 of 33 clothing lice pools. Identification was achieved by sequencing the ribosomal intragenic transcribed spacer region (ITS), revealing all to be Bartonella quintana . Although established as a clothing louse-borne infection, typically causing chronic bacteraemia, trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis and endocarditis, this has only been rarely reported among head lice. The higher numbers of infected head lice pools compared with clothing lice suggests their competence for maintaining this infection within Ethiopia.
ISSN:0147-9571
1878-1667
DOI:10.1016/j.cimid.2011.09.007