Investigating and defining neglected Bartonella quintana infection and ectoparasitosis among populations experiencing houselessness

We hypothesize that Bartonella quintana, a louse-borne bacterium, is a common and underdiagnosed cause of blood-stream infection and heart-valve infection among populations experiencing houselessness. We theorize that body lice infestation and other forms of arthropod infestation remain undiagnosed among houseless populations in Flanders, Brussels and Québec, and that these insects are vectors for a neglected disease that is challenging to diagnose. We will elucidate local and global transmission of B. quintana through genetic sequencing. Lastly, we will engage affected communities and service providers to better understand arthropod infestation and barriers to accessing housing and laundry services. The ID-BQI project is an interdisciplinary project that combines clinical infectious diseases/ microbiology (biomedical sciences), entomology (natural sciences), anthropology (social sciences) and bacterial genomics (technological sciences/ sequencing) to gain novel insights into neglected diseases that can have a meaningful societal impact by improving the health of

populations experiencing socio-economic forms of marginalization.