title: Competence of Cimex lectularius Bed Bugs for the Transmission of Bartonella quintana, the Agent of Trench Fever.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bartonella quintana, the etiologic agent of trench fever and other human diseases, is transmitted by the feces of body lice. Recently, this bacterium has been detected in other arthropod families such as bed bugs, which begs the question of their involvement in B. quintana transmission. Although several infectious pathogens have been reported and are suggested to be transmitted by bed bugs, the evidence regarding their competence as vectors is unclear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bed bugs at the adult and instar developmental stages were fed three successive human blood meals inoculated with B. quintana bacterium from day one (D1) to D5; subsequently they were fed with pathogen-free human blood until the end of the experiment. Bed bugs and feces were collected in time series, to evaluate their capacities to acquire, multiply and expel viable B. quintana using molecular biology, immunohistochemistry and cultures assays. B. quintana was detected molecularly in 100% of randomly selected experimentally infected bed bug specimens (D3). The monitoring of B. quintana in bed bug feces showed that the bacterium was detectable starting on the 3rd day post-infection (pi) and persisted until day 18±1 pi. Although immunohistochemistry assays localized the bacteria to the gastrointestinal bed bug gut, the detection of B. quintana in the first and second instar larva stages suggested a vertical non-transovarial transmission of the bacterium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present work demonstrated for the first time that bed bugs can acquire, maintain for more than 2 weeks and release viable B. quintana organisms following a stercorarial shedding. We also observed the vertical transmission of the bacterium to their progeny. Although the biological role of bed bugs in the transmission of B. quintana under natural conditions has yet to be confirmed, the present work highlights the need to reconsider monitoring of these arthropods for the transmission of human pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France; Ecole Nationale Supérieure Vétérinaire d'Alger, Alger, Algérie.
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leulmi
authors.affiliation: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Vétérinaire d'Alger, Alger, Algérie; Université de Boumerdes, Laboratoire VALCORE, Faculté des Sciences, Boumerdes, Algérie; Université de Bab Ezzouar, Laboratoire d'Ecologie et Environnement, Alger, Algérie.
authors.forename: Idir
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bitam
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jean Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Berenger
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lepidi
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jean Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rolain
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Almeras
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar), Inserm 1095, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D018413:Bartonella quintana / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D001511:Bedbugs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D014205:Trench Fever / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*