Since the 1800s, the only known vector of Borrelia recurrentis has been the body louse. In 2011, we found B. recurrentis DNA in 23% of head lice from patients with louse-borne relapsing fever in Ethiopia. Whether head lice can transmit these bacteria from one person to another remains to be determined.

Human head lice (Pediculus capitis) infest people worldwide and are most prevalent in children, the aim of this study was to determine the socioeconomic status of the family and hygienic practices in the home on prevalence of head lice infestation in children. The prevalence was investigated among 192 houses in Gaza city with 608 children. The hair was examined for head louse infestation. A tot...

BACKGROUND Body louse or head louse? Once removed from their environment, body and head lice are indistinguishable. Neither the morphological criteria used since the mid-18th century nor the various genetic studies conducted since the advent of molecular biology tools have allowed body lice and head lice to be differentiated. In this work, using a portion of the Phum_PHUM540560 gene from the bo...

Trench fever is a body louse-borne disease caused by Bartonella quintana Brenner. The recent status of louse infestation in Nepalese children is not well known. We collected head and body lice, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer and Pediculus humanus humanus L., respectively, from 30 children, including 11 cases of double infestation with both head and body lice. Detection of B. quintana in both...

In reviewing the current extent and epidemiology of louse infestations in human populations and between host and another, it is accepted that is infested by two species of lice/ of which consists of two subspecies (Busvine, 1976). The two species Pthirus pubis, the crab louse, andiPediculus humanus, the human louse, the latter with its two subspecies, P. h. capitis, the head louse, and P. h. hu...

BACKGROUND Antifilarial drug combinations including ivermectin provide antifilarial activity with ancillary benefits on intestinal helminths and ectoparasites, such as chiggers and lice. The impact of single oral dose of antifilarial drugs, viz; (1) diethylcarbamazine (DEC) alone, (ii) DEC + albendazole (ALB), (iii) ivermectin (IVR) + DEC and (iv) IVR + ALB, was determined, on the head louse (P...

Head louse infestations are increasing or remain high in most countries. In order to reduce the proportion of children infested with head lice and slow down the emergence of strains of lice resistant to pediculicides, more active involvement of health and educational authorities, as well as parents, is of paramount importance. We suggest that health authorities should introduce more efficient m...

The human head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body louse (P. humanus corporis or P. h. humanus) are strict, obligate human ectoparasites that differ mainly in their habitat on the host : the head louse lives and feeds exclusively on the scalp, whereas the body louse feeds on the body but lives in clothing. This ecological differentiation probably arose when humans adopted frequent use of...

Background: Pediculus capitis or head louse infestation affects millions of children worldwide, especially those in the 5–11 years age group. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of head pediculosis among school children in urban and rural areas of Fars Province, southern Iran. Methods: All school children of age 6-11 yr from both genders in all urban and rural areas of the province wer...