Abstract
Since the 1800s, the only known vector of Borrelia recurrentis has been the body louse. In 2011, we found B. recurrentis DNA in 23% of head lice from patients with louse-borne relapsing fever in Ethiopia. Whether head lice can transmit these bacteria from one person to another remains to be determined.
Keywords:
Bartonella quintana; Borrelia recurrentis; Ethiopia; Rickettsia; bacteria; body lice; head lice; relapsing fever; trench fever.
MeSH terms
-
Animals
-
Bartonella quintana / genetics*
-
Bartonella quintana / isolation & purification
-
Borrelia / genetics*
-
Borrelia / isolation & purification
-
DNA, Bacterial / genetics
-
DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
-
Ethiopia / epidemiology
-
Female
-
Humans
-
Lice Infestations / epidemiology*
-
Lice Infestations / microbiology
-
Male
-
Pediculus / microbiology*
-
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
-
Relapsing Fever / epidemiology*
-
Relapsing Fever / microbiology
-
Relapsing Fever / transmission
-
Trench Fever / epidemiology*
-
Trench Fever / microbiology
-
Trench Fever / transmission