Mouthpart sensory structures of the human head louse Pediculus humanus capitis

Ortega-Insaurralde, Isabel; Picollo, María Inés; Barrozo, Romina B.

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2020.100996

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…We hypothesize that Y. pestis-laden secretions from infected PGs pass through the ducts and repeatedly coat the body louse's piercing-sucking mouthparts prior to each feed (Fig 3D). Upon anchoring itself to the skin using its haustellum, equipped with protruding epipharyngeal teeth [25,26], the body louse extends its mouthparts, pierces the skin, and deposits Y. pestis into the host dermis during each subsequent blood meal.…”

Section: Plos Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Yersinia pestis can infect the Pawlowsky glands of human body lice and be transmitted by louse bite

Bland,

Long,

Rosenke

et al. 2024

PLoS Biol

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Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly lethal vector-borne pathogen responsible for killing large portions of Europe’s population during the Black Death of the Middle Ages. In the wild, Y. pestis cycles between fleas and rodents; occasionally spilling over into humans bitten by infectious fleas. For this reason, fleas and the rats harboring them have been considered the main epidemiological drivers of previous plague pandemics. Human ectoparasites, such as the body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), have largely been discounted due to their reputation as inefficient vectors of plague bacilli. Using a membrane-feeder adapted strain of body lice, we show that the digestive tract of some body lice become chronically infected with Y. pestis at bacteremia as low as 1 × 105 CFU/ml, and these lice routinely defecate Y. pestis. At higher bacteremia (≥1 × 107 CFU/ml), a subset of the lice develop an infection within the Pawlowsky glands (PGs), a pair of putative accessory salivary glands in the louse head. Lice that developed PG infection transmitted Y. pestis more consistently than those with bacteria only in the digestive tract. These glands are thought to secrete lubricant onto the mouthparts, and we hypothesize that when infected, their secretions contaminate the mouthparts prior to feeding, resulting in bite-based transmission of Y. pestis. The body louse’s high level of susceptibility to infection by gram-negative bacteria and their potential to transmit plague bacilli by multiple mechanisms supports the hypothesis that they may have played a role in previous human plague pandemics and local outbreaks.

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Section: Plos Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%