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Louse (pl.: lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects.Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result of developments in phylogenetic research.
Head lice, like other insects of the order Phthiraptera, are hemimetabolous. [1] [10] Newly hatched nymphs will moult three times before reaching the sexually mature adult stage. [1] Thus, mobile head lice populations may contain eggs, nits, three nymphal instars, and the adults (male and female) . [1]
The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus, also known as Pediculus humanus corporis) or the cootie is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. [1] It is one of three lice which infest humans, the other two being the head louse, and the crab louse or pubic louse.
Other lice that infest humans are the body louse and the crab louse (aka pubic lice). The claws of these three species are adapted to attach to specific hair diameters. [18] Pubic lice are most often spread by sexual contact with an infested person. [19] Body lice can be found on clothing and they are not known to burrow into the skin. [20]
When your child is the temporary home for these blood-sucking freeloaders, the social issue can sometimes be more overwhelming than the physical issue.
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of Borrelia bacteria, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus Ixodes. [4] [9] [10] The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans (EM), which appears at the site of the tick bite about a week afterwards. [1]
Even larger epidemics in the post-war chaos of Europe were averted only by the widespread use of the newly discovered DDT to kill lice on the millions of refugees and displaced persons. [citation needed] Following the development of a vaccine during World War II, Western Europe and North America have been able to prevent epidemics.
[30] [34] For example, a 1998 Israeli study found that 76% of live lice infestations were missed by visual inspection (as verified by subsequent combing methods). [ 35 ] [ 36 ] Although lice cannot fly or jump, they are fast and agile in their native environment (i.e., clinging to hairs near the warmth of the scalp), [ 30 ] and will try to ...