Head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis<\/em>, is an obligatory blood-sucking ectoparasite, distributed worldwide. Phylogenetically, it occurs in five divergent mitochondrial clades (A\u2013E); each exhibiting a particular geographical distribution. Recent studies suggest that, as in the case of body louse, head louse could be a disease vector. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of head lice collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and to screen for louse-borne pathogens in these lice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A total of 181 head lice were collected from 27 individuals at the Monkole Hospital Center located in Kinshasa. All head lice were genotyped and screened for the presence of louse-borne bacteria using molecular methods. We searched for Bartonella quintana<\/em>, Borrelia recurrentis<\/em>, Rickettsia prowazekii<\/em>, Anaplasma<\/em> spp., Yersinia pestis<\/em>, Coxiella burnetii<\/em> and Acinetobacter<\/em> spp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among these head lice, 67.4% (122\/181) belonged to clade A and 24.3% (44\/181) belonged to clade D. Additionally, for the first time in this area, we found clade E in 8.3% (15\/181) of tested lice, from two infested individuals. Dual infestation with clades A and D was observed for 44.4% individuals. Thirty-three of the 181 head lice were infected only by different bacterial species of the genus Acinetobacter<\/em>. Overall, 16 out of 27 individuals were infested (59.3%). Six Acinetobacter<\/em> species were detected including Acinetobacter baumannii<\/em> (8.3%), Acinetobacter johnsonii<\/em> (1.7%), Acinetobacter soli<\/em> (1.7%), Acinetobacter pittii<\/em> (1.7%), Acinetobacter guillouiae<\/em> (1.1%), as well as a new potential species named \u201cCandidatus<\/em> Acinetobacter pediculi\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time, the presence of clade E head lice in DR Congo. This study is also the first to report the presence of\u00a0Acinetobacter<\/em>\u00a0species DNAs in human head lice in DR Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMethods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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