Identification of Novel Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Mutations in Human Head and Body Lice

A new study investigating louse populations from Iran has revealed that 100% of all specimens collected from the Provinces of West-Azerbaijan and Zanjan have at least one of six novel mutations potentially associated with kdr resistance in body and head lice.

The study by Firooziyan et.al published in the May 2017 Journal of Medical Entomology suggests that the presence of kdr-related and novel mutations in the sodium channel is likely to be the reason for the frequent use of pyrethroid insecticides due to treatment failure against lice.

During the study six novel mutations were found in the IIS1-2 extracellular loop (H813P) and IIS5 (I927F, L928A, R929V, L930M, and L932M) of the α-subunit. The findings suggest that further studies are required to evaluate the prevalence of the kdr-like mutant allele for monitoring of insecticide resistance and the management of head and body lice in other provinces of Iran.