Risk Factors for Human Lice and Bartonellosis among the Homeless, San Francisco, California, USA

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Bonilla, Denise L. ; Cole-Porse, Charsey ; Kjemtrup, Anne ; Osikowicz, Lynn ; Kosoy, Michael
• Description:
  Homeless persons in San Francisco, California, USA,have been shown to have head and body lice infestations and Bartonella quintana infections. We surveyed a self selected population of homeless persons in San Francisco to assess infestations of head and body lice, risks of having body lice, and presence of B. quintana in lice. A total of 203 persons who reported itching were surveyed during 2008-2010 and 2012: 60 (30%) had body lice, 10 (4.9%)had head lice, and 6 (3.0%) had both. B. quintana was detected in 10 (15.9%) of 63 body lice pools and in 6 (37.5%)of 16 head lice pools. Variables significantly associated(p<0.05) with having body lice in this homeless population included male sex, African-American ethnicity, and sleeping outdoors. Our study findings suggest that specific segments of the homeless population would benefit from information on preventing body lice infestations and louse borne diseases.
• Subjects:
  Adult Aged Bartonella Infections/epidemiology Female Humans Ill-Housed Persons Lice Infestations/epidemiology Lice Infestations/parasitology Male Middle Aged Risk Factors Young Adult

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• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 20(10):1645-1651.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  San Francisco, CA
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  10
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2fbfd7cbb84bb51902cbaee72a20c59ba73476d84022ee83aabcadceecf3353e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/25649/cdc_25649_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]