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The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis

Year 2013, , 269 - 273, 01.12.2013
https://doi.org/10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591

Abstract

The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) is the vector of Rickettsia prowazekii, the agent of epidemic typhus, Borrelia recurrentis, the agent of louse-borne relapsing fever and Bartonella quintana, and the agent of trench fever. Although Acinobacter baumannii and Serratia marcescens have been detected in body lice, their vectorial capacity for these pathogens is not yet clear. Under experimental conditions, it was shown that body lice become infested and later transmit pathogens such as Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia conorii and Rickettsia rickettsiae, however in these cases it is not known if this could happen under natural conditions. The vectorial ability of head lice remains quite controversial. Under experimental conditions head lice were infected with R. prowazekii and disseminate this pathogen in their feces, showing that these lice have the potential to be a vector pathogen under optimal epidemiologic conditions, e.g., during outbreaks of epidemic typhus. Head lice and their eggs collected from children and homeless people were tested positive for B. quintana. Pubic lice are not known to be vectors of any human pathogenic microorganisms under field conditions

References

  • Angelakis E, Diatta G, Abdissa A, Trape JF, Mediannikov O, Richet H, Raoult D (2011): Altitude- dependent Bartonella quintana genotype C in head lice, Ethiopia. Emerg Infect Dis, 17, 2357-2359.
  • Bonilla DL, Kabeya H, Henn J, Kramer VL, Kosoy MY (2009): Bartonella quintana in body lice and head lice from homeless persons, San Francisco, California, USA. Emerg Infect Dis, 15, 912-915.
  • Bozeman FM, Masiello SA, Williams MS, Elisberg BL (1975): Epidemic typhus rickettsiae isolated from flying squirrels. Nature, 255, 545-547.
  • Brouqui P, Lascola B, Roux V, Raoult D (1999): Chronic Bartonella quintana bacteremia in homeless patients. N Engl J Med, 340, 184-189.
  • Bryceson AD, Parry EH, Perine PL, Warrell DA, Vukotich D, Leithead CS (1970): Louse-borne relapsing fever. Q J Med, 39, 129-170.
  • Cartwright FF (1972): Disease and History. The Crowell Co., New York.
  • Conlon JM (2012): The historical impact of epidemic typhus. http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/typhus- conlon.pdf Erişim Tarihi: 05.09.2012.
  • Cutler S, Abdissa A, Adamu H, Tolosa T, Gashaw A (2012): Bartonella quintana in Ethiopian lice. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 35, 17-21.
  • Fournier PE, Ndihokubwayo JB, Guidran J, Kelly PJ, Raoult D (2002): Human pathogens in body and head lice. Emerg Infect Dis, 8, 1515-1518.
  • Goldberger J, Anderson JF (1912): The transmission of typhus fever, with reference to transmission by the head louse (Pediculus capitis). Pub. Health Rep, 27, 297-307.
  • Hare R (1955): Pomp and Pestilence. Philosophical Library, Inc., New York.
  • Houhamdi L, Fournier PE, Fang R, Raoult D (2003): An experimental model of human body louse infection with Rickettsia typhi. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 990, 617-627.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2005): Excretion of living Borrelia recurrentis in feces of infected human body lice. J Infect Dis, 191, 1898-1906.
  • Houhamdi L, Lepidi H, Drancourt M, Raoult D (2006): Experimental model to evaluate the human body louse as a vector of plague. J Infect Dis, 194, 1589-1596.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2006): Experimentally infected human body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) as vectors of Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia conorii in a rabbit model. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 74, 521-525.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2006): Experimental infection of human body lice with Acinetobacter baumannii. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 74, 526-531.
  • Kim JH, Min JS, Kang JS, Kwon DH, Yoon KS, Strycharz J, Koh YH, Pittendrigh BR, Clark JM, Lee SH (2011): Comparison of the humoral and cellular immune responses between body and head lice following bacterial challenge. Insect Biochem Mol Biol, 41, 332- 339.
  • La Scola B, Fournier PE, Brouqui P, Raoult D (2001): Detection and culture of Bartonella quintana, Serratia marcescens, and Acinetobacter spp. from decontaminated human body lice. J Clin Microbiol, 39, 1707-1709.
  • Mumcuoglu KY, Miller J, Manor, Ben-Ishai F, Klaus S (1993): The prevalence of ectoparasites in Ethiopian immigrants. Isr J Med Sci, 29, 371-373.
  • Murray ES, Torrey SB (1975): Virulence of Rickettsia prowazeki for head lice. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 266, 25-34.
  • Nicolle C, Comte C, Conseil L (1909): Transmission expérimentale du typhus exanthématique par le pou du corps. Comptes Rendus Hebdo-Madaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, 149, 486-489.
  • Raoult D, Dutour O, Houhamdi L, Jankauskas R, Fournier PE, Ardagna Y, Drancourt M, Signoli M, La VD, Macia Y, Aboudharam G (2006): Evidence for louse-transmitted diseases in soldiers of Napoleon's Grand Army in Vilnius. J Infect Dis, 193, 112-120.
  • Ricketts HT, Wilder RM (1913): Further investigation regarding the etiology of Tabarillo, Mexican typhus fever. JAMA, 55, 309-311.
  • Rydkina EB, Roux V, Gagua EM, Predtechenski AB, Tarasevich IV, Raoult D (1999): Bartonella quintana in body lice collected from homeless persons in Russia. Emerg Infect Dis, 5, 176-178.
  • Sasaki T, Kobayashi M, Agui N (2002): Detection of Bartonella quintana from body lice (Anoplura: Pediculidae) infesting homeless people in Tokyo by molecular technique. J Med Entomol, 39, 427-429.
  • Sasaki T, Poudel SK, Isawa H, Hayashi T, Seki N, Tomita T, Sawabe K, Kobayashi M (2006): First molecular evidence of Bartonella quintana in Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), collected from Nepalese children. J Med Entomol, 43, 110-112.
  • Weyer F (1952): Experimental infection of Phthirus pubis L. with Rickettsia prowazeki and Rickettsia quintana (in German). Z Tropenmed Parasitol, 3, 302-309.
  • Zinsser H (1934): Varieties of typhus virus and the epidemiology of the American form of European typhus fever (Brill's disease). Am J Hyg, 20, 513.
  • Zinsser H (1963): Rats, Lice, and History. Little, Brown and Co., Boston.

İnsan bitleri: Pediculus humanus ve Pthirus pubis’in vektörlük kapasiteleri

Year 2013, , 269 - 273, 01.12.2013
https://doi.org/10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591

Abstract

İnsan vücut biti (Pediculus humanus humanus); epidemik tifüs (salgın tifüs, bit tifüsü, lekeli humma) etkeni Rickettsia prowazekii’nin, bitle bulaşan dönemeli ateş (louse-borne relapsing fever) ajanı Borrelia recurrentis’in ve siper ateşi (trench fever) etkeni Bartonella quintana’nın vektörüdür. Acinobacter baumannii ve Serratia marcescens’in insan vücut bitlerinde varlığı saptamış olmakla beraber insan vücut bitinin bu patojenler için vektörlük kapasiteleri henüz açıklığa kavuşmamıştır. Deneysel koşullar altında, vücut bitinin Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia conorii ve Rickettsia rickettsiae gibi patojenleri naklettiği gösterilmiş olmakla beraber doğal koşullardaki durumu bilinmemektedir. Baş bitlerinin vektörlük kabiliyetleri oldukça tartışmalıdır. Deneysel koşullar altında baş biti, R. prowazekii ile enfekte edilmiş ve patojeni dışkısıyla yaydığı gösterilmiştir ki, bu durum baş bitlerinin optimal epidemiyolojik koşullarda (örneğin epidemik tifüs salgınlarında olduğu gibi) bir patojene vektör olma potansiyelini ortaya koymaktadır. Evsizlerden ve çocuklardan toplanmış baş bitleri ve onların yumurtalarında B. quintana’nın varlığı araştırılmış ve pozitif bulunmuştur. Saha şartlarında, kasık bitlerinin insanlar için patojen herhangi bir mikroorganizmin vektörü olduğu bilinmemektedir

References

  • Angelakis E, Diatta G, Abdissa A, Trape JF, Mediannikov O, Richet H, Raoult D (2011): Altitude- dependent Bartonella quintana genotype C in head lice, Ethiopia. Emerg Infect Dis, 17, 2357-2359.
  • Bonilla DL, Kabeya H, Henn J, Kramer VL, Kosoy MY (2009): Bartonella quintana in body lice and head lice from homeless persons, San Francisco, California, USA. Emerg Infect Dis, 15, 912-915.
  • Bozeman FM, Masiello SA, Williams MS, Elisberg BL (1975): Epidemic typhus rickettsiae isolated from flying squirrels. Nature, 255, 545-547.
  • Brouqui P, Lascola B, Roux V, Raoult D (1999): Chronic Bartonella quintana bacteremia in homeless patients. N Engl J Med, 340, 184-189.
  • Bryceson AD, Parry EH, Perine PL, Warrell DA, Vukotich D, Leithead CS (1970): Louse-borne relapsing fever. Q J Med, 39, 129-170.
  • Cartwright FF (1972): Disease and History. The Crowell Co., New York.
  • Conlon JM (2012): The historical impact of epidemic typhus. http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/typhus- conlon.pdf Erişim Tarihi: 05.09.2012.
  • Cutler S, Abdissa A, Adamu H, Tolosa T, Gashaw A (2012): Bartonella quintana in Ethiopian lice. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 35, 17-21.
  • Fournier PE, Ndihokubwayo JB, Guidran J, Kelly PJ, Raoult D (2002): Human pathogens in body and head lice. Emerg Infect Dis, 8, 1515-1518.
  • Goldberger J, Anderson JF (1912): The transmission of typhus fever, with reference to transmission by the head louse (Pediculus capitis). Pub. Health Rep, 27, 297-307.
  • Hare R (1955): Pomp and Pestilence. Philosophical Library, Inc., New York.
  • Houhamdi L, Fournier PE, Fang R, Raoult D (2003): An experimental model of human body louse infection with Rickettsia typhi. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 990, 617-627.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2005): Excretion of living Borrelia recurrentis in feces of infected human body lice. J Infect Dis, 191, 1898-1906.
  • Houhamdi L, Lepidi H, Drancourt M, Raoult D (2006): Experimental model to evaluate the human body louse as a vector of plague. J Infect Dis, 194, 1589-1596.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2006): Experimentally infected human body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) as vectors of Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia conorii in a rabbit model. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 74, 521-525.
  • Houhamdi L, Raoult D (2006): Experimental infection of human body lice with Acinetobacter baumannii. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 74, 526-531.
  • Kim JH, Min JS, Kang JS, Kwon DH, Yoon KS, Strycharz J, Koh YH, Pittendrigh BR, Clark JM, Lee SH (2011): Comparison of the humoral and cellular immune responses between body and head lice following bacterial challenge. Insect Biochem Mol Biol, 41, 332- 339.
  • La Scola B, Fournier PE, Brouqui P, Raoult D (2001): Detection and culture of Bartonella quintana, Serratia marcescens, and Acinetobacter spp. from decontaminated human body lice. J Clin Microbiol, 39, 1707-1709.
  • Mumcuoglu KY, Miller J, Manor, Ben-Ishai F, Klaus S (1993): The prevalence of ectoparasites in Ethiopian immigrants. Isr J Med Sci, 29, 371-373.
  • Murray ES, Torrey SB (1975): Virulence of Rickettsia prowazeki for head lice. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 266, 25-34.
  • Nicolle C, Comte C, Conseil L (1909): Transmission expérimentale du typhus exanthématique par le pou du corps. Comptes Rendus Hebdo-Madaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, 149, 486-489.
  • Raoult D, Dutour O, Houhamdi L, Jankauskas R, Fournier PE, Ardagna Y, Drancourt M, Signoli M, La VD, Macia Y, Aboudharam G (2006): Evidence for louse-transmitted diseases in soldiers of Napoleon's Grand Army in Vilnius. J Infect Dis, 193, 112-120.
  • Ricketts HT, Wilder RM (1913): Further investigation regarding the etiology of Tabarillo, Mexican typhus fever. JAMA, 55, 309-311.
  • Rydkina EB, Roux V, Gagua EM, Predtechenski AB, Tarasevich IV, Raoult D (1999): Bartonella quintana in body lice collected from homeless persons in Russia. Emerg Infect Dis, 5, 176-178.
  • Sasaki T, Kobayashi M, Agui N (2002): Detection of Bartonella quintana from body lice (Anoplura: Pediculidae) infesting homeless people in Tokyo by molecular technique. J Med Entomol, 39, 427-429.
  • Sasaki T, Poudel SK, Isawa H, Hayashi T, Seki N, Tomita T, Sawabe K, Kobayashi M (2006): First molecular evidence of Bartonella quintana in Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), collected from Nepalese children. J Med Entomol, 43, 110-112.
  • Weyer F (1952): Experimental infection of Phthirus pubis L. with Rickettsia prowazeki and Rickettsia quintana (in German). Z Tropenmed Parasitol, 3, 302-309.
  • Zinsser H (1934): Varieties of typhus virus and the epidemiology of the American form of European typhus fever (Brill's disease). Am J Hyg, 20, 513.
  • Zinsser H (1963): Rats, Lice, and History. Little, Brown and Co., Boston.
There are 29 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Veterinary Surgery
Other ID JA57GE85SJ
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu

Publication Date December 1, 2013
Published in Issue Year 2013

Cite

APA Mumcuoglu, K. Y. (2013). The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, 60(4), 269-273. https://doi.org/10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591
AMA Mumcuoglu KY. The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis. Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg. December 2013;60(4):269-273. doi:10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591
Chicago Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y. “The Vectorial Capacity of Human Lice: Pediculus Humanus and Pthirus Pubis”. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 60, no. 4 (December 2013): 269-73. https://doi.org/10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591.
EndNote Mumcuoglu KY (December 1, 2013) The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 60 4 269–273.
IEEE K. Y. Mumcuoglu, “The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis”, Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 269–273, 2013, doi: 10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591.
ISNAD Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y. “The Vectorial Capacity of Human Lice: Pediculus Humanus and Pthirus Pubis”. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 60/4 (December 2013), 269-273. https://doi.org/10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591.
JAMA Mumcuoglu KY. The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis. Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg. 2013;60:269–273.
MLA Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y. “The Vectorial Capacity of Human Lice: Pediculus Humanus and Pthirus Pubis”. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 60, no. 4, 2013, pp. 269-73, doi:10.1501/Vetfak_0000002591.
Vancouver Mumcuoglu KY. The vectorial capacity of human lice: Pediculus humanus and Pthirus pubis. Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg. 2013;60(4):269-73.