RESUMEN
The human lice Pediculus humanus is distributed worldwide but, it thrives and flourishes under conflict situations where people are forced to live in crowded unhygienic conditions. Molecular methods were used to identify and screen human lice for the DNA of pathogens of public health importance in an area that has been under insurgency related to religious and political conflicts with tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDP). DNA of Bartonella quintana, Acinetobacter baumannii and Acinetobacter haemolyticus was detected in 18.3%, 40.0% and 1.7%, respectively, of human lice collected from children in Maiduguri, Nigeria. More body lice than head lice were positive for pathogen's DNA (64.3% vs. 44.4%; χ2 = 1.3, p = 0.33), but the difference was not significant. Two lice samples were found to harbour mixed DNA of B. quintana and A. baumannii. Phylogenetic analysis of the cytochrome b (cytb) gene sequences of the positive lice specimens placed them into clades A and E. This is the first report on the molecular identification of human lice and the detection of the DNA of pathogens of public health importance in lice in Nigeria, West Africa. The findings of this study will assist policy makers and medical practitioners in formulating a holistic healthcare delivery to IDPs.
Asunto(s)
Acinetobacter baumannii , Acinetobacter , Bartonella quintana , Infestaciones por Piojos , Pediculus , Humanos , Animales , Pediculus/genética , Acinetobacter baumannii/genética , Bartonella quintana/genética , Nigeria/epidemiología , Filogenia , Infestaciones por Piojos/epidemiología , Infestaciones por Piojos/veterinaria , África Occidental , ADNAsunto(s)
Humanos , Dermatosis del Cuero Cabelludo/parasitología , Dermatosis del Cuero Cabelludo/tratamiento farmacológico , Dermatosis del Cuero Cabelludo/terapia , Infestaciones por Piojos/tratamiento farmacológico , Hexaclorociclohexano , Malatión , Aceites Volátiles , Permetrina , Aceites de Plantas , Pediculus/genéticaRESUMEN
Two cDNA sequences encoding Drosophila Ace-orthologous and -paralogous acetylcholinesterase precursors (AO- and AP-AChE precursors, respectively), were identified from the body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus L. In vitro inhibition studies with an insecticide-susceptible body louse strain exhibited a simplex inhibitory response of AChE. The I50 values of fenitroxon and carbaryl were estimated to be 2.2 and 1.9 microM for the susceptible lice, respectively. The mRNA level of AP-AChE gene was 3.1- and 9.3-fold higher than that of AO-AChE gene in the abdomen and the combined parts of the head and thorax, respectively, suggesting, due to its abundance, the potential significance of the AP-AChE isoform in Pediculus human lice in association with the efficacy of AChE-targeting pediculicides.