Mirzajanzadeh F, Karami M, Gorgani-Firouzjaee T, Babapour R, Jafarzadeh J, Jalilnavaz-Novin M. High mitochondrial gene diversity of Pediculus humanus capitis among children in northern Iran.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2024:trae040. [PMID:
38895866 DOI:
10.1093/trstmh/trae040]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is an obligate ectoparasite and its infestation remains a major public health issue worldwide. Determining the genetic characteristics of the existing clades is essential to identify the population structure and to develop head lice-control programs. Hence, we aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of head lice among infested individuals in northern Iran.
METHODS
Adult head lice were collected from 100 infested individuals referring to the health centers throughout five geographical regions in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Partial fragments of the mitochondrial cytb gene were amplified by PCR, then consequently sequenced.
RESULTS
The results of the phylogenetic tree of collected head lice confirmed the existence of two clades, A and B, in the studied areas. Thirteen haplotypes were detected in the studied populations, of which 11 were novel haplotypes. Clade A was the dominant form and accounted for 75% of samples, while clade B included the rest. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity were 0.999 and 0.0411, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Clade A and B of Pediculus humanus capitis exist among the human populations of northern Iran. We observed high genotypic diversity of this head lice.
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