First molecular evidence of Bartonella quintana in Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), collected from Nepalese children.
Trench fever is a body louse-borne disease caused by Bartonella quintana Brenner. The recent status of louse infestation in Nepalese children is not well known. We collected head and body lice, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer and Pediculus humanus humanus L., respectively, from 30 children, including 11 cases of double infestation with both head and body lice. Detection of B. quintana in both louse species identified was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products with B. quintana DNA sequences were detected in both head and body lice from two children as well as in body lice derived from two other children. These results demonstrate that head lice may also play a role in the transmission of trench fever.
Sasaki
Toshinori
T
Department of Medical Entomology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Poudel
Shree Kanta S
SK
Isawa
Haruhiko
H
Hayashi
Toshihiko
T
Seki
Naomi
N
Tomita
Takashi
T
Sawabe
Kyoko
K
Kobayashi
Mutsuo
M
D000818:Animals; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics; D018413:Bartonella quintana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009390:Nepal; D010374:Pediculus / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014205:Trench Fever / Q000635:transmission*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal