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20 June 2019 First Determination of Pyrethroid Knockdown Resistance Alleles in Human Head Lice (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) From Chile
Gonzalo Roca-Acevedo, Carmen Paz del Solar Kupfer, Paulina Dressel Roa, Ariel Ceferino Toloza
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Abstract

The infestation with the human ectoparasite, Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer), is a common public health problem affecting schoolchildren worldwide. In Chile, the main active ingredients present in the over-the-counter pediculicides contain pyrethroids. Despite the extended use of these products, there is no evidence of the insecticide resistance status of the head lice geographically located in Chile. The most extended resistant mechanism of pyrethroids consists of the target site insensitivity (Kdr) determined by the presence of mutations linked to insecticide-binding sites in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel.T917I is recognized as the main mutation in head lice, and detection is considered to be a biomarker of resistance.The goal of the present study was to detect the presence and distribution ofT917I mutation in five geographic locations of Chile. All five geographically selected louse populations had a frequency of pyrethroid resistance genes that ranged from 36 to 77%, and 94.9% of the collected head lice had one or twoT917I mutant alleles. Moreover, the frequency of the aggregate resistant alleles was 50.5%.This is the first evidence that head lice in Chile had the mutations commonly associated with the resistance to pyrethroids. Moreover, the overrepresentation of heterozygotes in the studied populations suggests that head lice in Chile are currently under active selective pressure.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Gonzalo Roca-Acevedo, Carmen Paz del Solar Kupfer, Paulina Dressel Roa, and Ariel Ceferino Toloza "First Determination of Pyrethroid Knockdown Resistance Alleles in Human Head Lice (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) From Chile," Journal of Medical Entomology 56(6), 1698-1703, (20 June 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjz101
Received: 14 March 2019; Accepted: 22 May 2019; Published: 20 June 2019
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KEYWORDS
head lice
kdr
pediculosis
Pediculus humanus capitis
resistance
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