Table 2 Epidemiological studies in population groups infested with head lice

Democratic Republic of Congo; Kinshasa

2019

Examination of patients hospitalized at the Monkole Hospital Center/B. quintana, B. recurrentis, R. prowazekii, Anaplasma spp., Y. pestis, C. burneti, Acinetobacter spp.

27/181

54/181

(29.8%)

A. baumannii; A. johnsonii; A. sai; A. pittii; A. guillouiae; A. pediculi

Head lice belonged to clade A, D, E; 44% of the infested patients had head lice from different clades

[28]

Madagascar; rural communities in the Southeast

2019

Collection of head lice from inhabitants of rural communities/B. quintana, Acinetobacter spp.

33/151

20/151

(30.2%)

B. quintana 12.6%;

Acinetobacter 42.1%

Frequency of pathogens varied considerably between villages

[23]

Algeria;

Algier

2019

Collection of head lice from refugees from Niger and school children/

Rickettsia spp.,

Borrelia spp.,

B. quintana;

Y. pestis,

C. burneti;

Anaplasma spp.;

Acinetobacter spp.

70 refugees, 101 school children/

37 lice from refugees,

45 lice from school children

C. burneti:

lice positive school children

0/45 (0%)]

refugees

3/31 (9.7%)

Acinetobacter spp.

school children

25/45 (55.6%)

refugees

25/31 (80.6%)

C. burneti;

A. baumanii;

A. johnsonii;

A. variabilis

Head lice belonged to clade A, B, E

[25]

Mali; Koulikoro region

2017

Collection of head lice from patients presenting at rural health centers Patients were examined for presence of head and body lice; only head lice were present/B. quintana, Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp.

117/600

B. quintana lice positive 3/600 (0.5%)

C. burneti: lice positive

6/117 (5.1%)

Rickettsia spp.

lice positive 4/600 (0.6%)

B. quintana

C. burneti

Rickettsia spp.

Anaplasma spp.

Lice belonged to clade E but showed many different haplotypes

[24]

Democratic Republic of Congo; tropical rain forest inhabited by pygmies

2016

Collection of head lice from healthy individuals of 3 communities/

Borrelia spp.,

Bartonella spp.,

Acinetobacter spp.,

Rickettsia spp.,

R. prowazekii,

Y. pestis,

Anaplasma spp.

120/630

lice positive 246/630

(39.0%)

Borrelia spp.

11/630 (1.7%)

(B. recurrentis 10/11 (90.9%)

B. theileri

1/11 (9.1%),

Borrelia spp.

A. junii,

A. ursingii,

A. baumannii,

A. johnsonii,

A. schindleri,

A. lwoffii,

A. nosocomialis,

A. towneri,

Moraxella spp.

lice belonged to clade A, C, D; distribution of clades differed between villages

[26]

Thailand; schools in different areas of the country

2015

Head lice collected from school children/Bartonella spp., Acinetobacter spp.

26/275

lice positive 10/275 (3.7%)

A. baumannii,

A. radioresistens, A. schindleri

[29]

Ethiopia

2013

Head lice collected from patients with louse-borne relapsing fever

24/35

Lice positive

8/35 (23.0%)

B. recurrentis

[27]

France

2011

Head lice collected from school children during an epidemiological survey/

B. quintana

A. baumannii

?/288

A. baumannii

lice positive

95/288 (33.0%)

A. baumannii

[30]