Table 3 Epidemiological studies in population groups co-infested with head lice and body lice
Country; area/city | Year | Study design/detection of DNA of | Number of persons/lice examined | Number of lice positive (%) | Pathogens identified | Remarks | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
France; town near Paris | 2018 | Head lice and body lice were collected from in-patients of the Avicenne Hospital and homeless people/Acinetobacter spp.; R. prowazekii; Y. pestis; Borrelia spp.; B. quintana; C. burneti; Anaplasma spp. | 141/head lice: 235; body lice: 24 | B. quintana: Head lice: 0/235 (0%) Body lice: 4/24 (16.7%) Acinetobacter spp.: Head lice 27/235 (11.5%) Body lice 7/24 (29.1%) | B. quintana Acinetobacter spp. | Lice belonged to Clade A, B, E | [3] |
Democratic Republic of Congo; Oriental province | 2015 | Collection of head lice and body lice from healthy individuals living in a Y. pestis endemic area/B. quintana, Y. pestis | 37/examined for B. quintana Head lice: 7 Body lice: 30 Examined for Y. pestis Head lice: 31 Body lice: 143 | B. quintana Head lice: 6/31 (19.4%) Body lice: 48/143 (33.5%) Y. pestis Head lice 1/31 (3.2%) Body lice 2/148 (1.4%) | B. quintana, Y. pestis | Lice of 7 persons were infected with B. quintana, Y. pestis or both pathogens; Clade A contained head lice and body lice; Clade D contained only body lice | [4] |
USA, San Francisco | 2014 | Collection of head lice and body lice from self-selected homeless people/B. quintana | 203/head lice: 10/203; body lice: 60/203; both types 6/203 | Head lice: 37.5% Body lice: 15.9%a | B. quintana | [50] | |
Ethiopia; Bahir Da Hospital | 2013 | Examination of head lice + body lice collected from in-patients in whom Borrelia spp. were identified microscopically in blood smear/B. recurrentis | 24/35 head lice; 62 body lice | Head lice: 8/35 (22.9%) Body lice: 25/62 (40.3%) | B. recurrentis | Clades not determined; in co-infested patients B. recurrentis DNA was detected more often in body lice than in head lice | [27] |
Democratic Republic of Congo; Oriental province, Rethy Health District | 2013 | Head and body lice were collected from individuals living in a Y. pestis endemic area/R. prowazekii, B. recurrentis, B. quintana, Y. pestis | Number of persons not detailed/35 head lice; 154 body lice | B. quintana: Head lice 6/35 (17.1%) Body lice 50/154 (32.5%) Y. pestis 1/35 head lice (2.9%) 2/154 body lice (1.3%) | B. quintana Y. pestis | [31] | |
Ethiopia; 8 villages located at different altitudes in SW Ethiopia | 2011 | Collection of head lice + body lice from individuals living in a B. quintana endemic area/B. quintana | 134/head lice:271; body lice: 424 | Head lice: 19/271 (7.0%) Body lice: 76/424 (17.9% | B. quintana | Head lice belonged to clade C, body lice belonged to clade A; in co-infested persons only head lice or only body lice were infected with B. quintana | [32] |
Burundi; various sites | 2002 | Lice were collected during an outbreak of epidemic typhus in Burundi/R. prowazekii, B. quintana | No data provided/no data provided | Body lice: R. prowazekii 7–35% B. quintana 2–90% Head lice: no data provided | R. prowazekii B. quintana | Not clear how many body and head lice were collected/examined | [20] |
Nepal; Pokhara town + slum in Katmandu | 2006 | Lice were collected from healthy children/B. quintana | No data provided/no data provided | Town: Head lice: 0% Body lice: 12.5% Slum: Head lice: 25% Body lice: 19% | B. quintana | [21] | |
USA; San Francisco | 2009 | Head and body lice were collected from homeless persons/B. quintana | 138/no data provided | Head lice: 8% Body lice: 5%b | B. quintana | [22] | |
Ethiopia; rural communities in the Southeast | 2012 | Head and body lice collected from healthy individuals/A. baumannii | 134/head lice: 115; body lice: 109 | Head lice: 54/115 (47%) Body lice: 77/109 (71%) | A. baumannii | [34] | |
Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar | 2014 | Not details provided where and how lice were collected/B. quintana | Not detailed/1040 lice in total; head lice: 616; body lice: 424c | Head lice: 10/616 (1.6%) Body lice: 228/424 (54.0%) | B. quintana | Proportion of head and/or body lice infected differed considerably between settings Range head lice: 0–17.1% Range body lice: 4.5–89.7% All head and body lice infected with B. quintana belonged to clade A2 | [33] |