background: pediculosis capitis is a common parasitic infection of children. in this study we assessed the prevalence of head pediculosis among the middle schoolchildren in the urban and rural areas of fars province, southern iran.methods: all middle schoolchildren ages 11-14, in all the urban and rural areas of the province were screened for head lice infestation by examining their hair and sc...

Bilateral animals are featured by an extremely compact mitochondrial (mt) genome with 37 genes on a single circular chromosome. The human body louse, Pediculus humanus, however, has its mt genes on 20 minichromosomes. We sequenced the mt genomes of two other human lice: the head louse, P. capitis, and the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis. Comparison among the three human lice revealed the presence of...

background: pediculus capitis (anoplura: pediculidae) or head louse is an obligate ectoparasite transmitted mainly through physical contact. this study was conducted to survey the prevalence of head lice infestation rate and some risk factors in primary school pupils, in khajeh city east azerbaijan province, iran. methods: we selected 20 primary schools of khajeh city during 2008 and 2009. tota...

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 we...

BACKGROUND Genetic analyses of human lice have shown that the current taxonomic classification of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) does not reflect their phylogenetic organization. Three phylotypes of head lice A, B and C exist but body lice have been observed only in phylotype A. Head and body lice have different behaviours and only the latter hav...

OBJECTIVE The well-known and common infestation caused by Pediculus humanus capitis is an important public health and a social issue in many communities in the world. The aim of this study was to compare the head louse infestation rate in two schools having pupils from different socio-economic levels in the city center of Izmir. METHODS The pupils aged between 6 and 11 years, were screened fo...

Treatment of head louse infection is primarily through topical insecticides. However, there is growing evidence of resistance. A representative population sample was tested using biochemical and molecular methods; it was shown that, in Wales, treatments containing pyrethroids are likely to be less effective in controlling head louse infection than those containing organophosphates.

The human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), is an obligate ectoparasite that causes pediculosis capitis and has parasitized humans since the beginning of humankind. Head louse infestations are widespread throughout the world and have been increasing since the early 1990s partially because of ineffective pediculicides. In Argentina, the overuse of product...

Two genera of lice parasitize humans: Pthirus and Pediculus. The latter is of significant public health importance and comprises two ecotypes: the body louse and the head louse. These ecotypes are morphologically and genetically notably similar; the body louse is responsible for three infectious diseases: Louse-borne epidemic typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever. Mitochondrial DNA studies ...