Louse 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.
The Mallophaga are a possibly paraphyletic section of lice, known as chewing lice, biting lice, or bird lice, containing more than 3000 species. These lice are external parasites that feed mainly on birds, although some species also feed on mammals. They infest both domestic and wild mammals and birds, and cause considerable irritation to their hosts. They have paurometabolis or incomplete metamorphosis.
Sucking lice have around 500 species and represent the smaller of the two traditional superfamilies of lice. As opposed to the paraphyletic chewing lice, which are now divided among three suborders, the sucking lice are monophyletic.
The crab louse or pubic louse is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. The crab louse usually is found in the person's pubic hair. Although the louse cannot jump, it can also live in other areas of the body that are covered with coarse hair, such as the perianal area, the entire body, and the eyelashes.
Pediculosis is an infestation of lice from the sub-order Anoplura, family Pediculidae. Accordingly, the infestation with head lice is named pediculosis capitis, while this with body lice, pediculosis corporis. Although pediculosis in humans may properly refer to lice infestation of any part of the body, the term is sometimes used loosely to refer to pediculosis capitis, the infestation of the human head with the specific head louse.
The treatment of human lice is the removal of head lice parasites from human hair. It has been debated and studied for centuries. However, the number of cases of human louse infestations has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s, reaching hundreds of millions annually. There is no product or method that assures 100% destruction of the eggs and hatched lice after a single treatment. However, there are a number of treatment modalities that can be employed with varying degrees of success. These methods include chemical treatments, natural products, combs, shaving, hot air, and silicone-based lotions.
Menoponidae is a monophyletic family of lice in the superfamily of chewing lice, Amblycera, often referred to as the chicken body louse family. They are ectoparasites of a wide range of birds including chickens, which makes them important to understand for veterinary science and for human health. However, Menoponidae are not exclusive to poultry and are common parasites for migratory birds, with more and more species being discovered every year.
The body louse or the cootie is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one of three lice which infest humans, the other two being the head louse, and the crab louse or pubic louse.
Forensic entomology has three sub-fields: urban, stored product and medico-criminal entomologies. This article focuses on medico-criminal entomology and how DNA is analyzed with various blood-feeding insects.
Head lice infestation, also known as pediculosis capitis, is the infection of the head hair and scalp by the head louse. Itching from lice bites is common. During a person's first infection, the itch may not develop for up to six weeks. If a person is infected again, symptoms may begin much more quickly. The itch may cause problems with sleeping. Generally, however, it is not a serious condition. While head lice appear to spread some other diseases in Africa, they do not appear to do so in Europe or North America.
Archaeoparasitology, a multi-disciplinary field within paleopathology, is the study of parasites in archaeological contexts. It includes studies of the protozoan and metazoan parasites of humans in the past, as well as parasites which may have affected past human societies, such as those infesting domesticated animals.
No nit policy is a public health policy implemented by some education authorities to prevent the transmission of head lice infestation. The "no nit" policy requires the sending home and barring of all children who have nits on their hair from controlled settings such as school, summer camp or day care facilities. The CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) advocate that "no-nit" policies should be discontinued, due in part because nits, the eggs or empty egg shells, are not transmissible and the burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice. Proponents of the no-nit policy counter that only a consistently nit-free child can be reliably shown to be infestation-free. That is, the presence of nits serves as a proxy for infestation status. Proponents argue that such a proxy is necessary because lice screening is prone to false negative conclusions.
The salmon louse is a species of copepod in the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon, particularly on Pacific and Atlantic salmon and sea trout, but is also sometimes found on the three-spined stickleback. It feeds on the mucus, skin and blood of the fish. Once detached, they can be blown by wind across the surface of the sea, like plankton. When they encounter a suitable marine fish host, they adhere themselves to the skin, fins, or gills of the fish, and feed on the mucus or skin. Sea lice only affect fish and are not harmful to humans.
Pediculosis corporis or Vagabond's disease is a cutaneous condition caused by body lice that lay their eggs on clothing and to a lesser extent on human hairs.
Pediculosis pubis is an infestation by the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis, a wingless insect which feeds on blood and lays its eggs (nits) on mainly pubic hair. Less commonly, hair near the anus, armpit, beard, eyebrows, moustache, and eyelashes may be involved. It is usually acquired during sex, but can be spread via bedding, clothing and towels, and is more common in crowded conditions where there is close contact between people.
Lemurpediculus verruculosus is an ectoparasite that is found on Microcebus rufus, a mouse lemur of southeastern Madagascar. It is a type of sucking louse that is found on the external ears of the mouse lemur due to the rich peripheral blood supply and sparse fur. The mouse lemur M. rufus is the only known host to this particular sucking louse, and infestations range from light to fairly heavy on the ears. The exact effect these lice have on the host is largely unknown.
Trichodectes canis, also known as canine chewing louse, is a chewing louse found on domesticated dogs and wild canids throughout the world. T. canis is a well-known vector for the dog tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum. T. canis usually does not present any major problems to the host, however, can be very irritating in heavy infestations. In North America and most developed countries, T. canis infestation of domesticated dogs is very uncommon as long as they are properly cared for and healthy. Poorly taken care of dogs are more prone to getting a lice infestation.
Haematopinus suis, the hog louse, is one of the largest members of the louse suborder Anoplura, which consists of sucking lice that commonly afflict a number of mammals. H. suis is found almost solely on the skin surface of swine, and takes several blood meals a day from its host. H. suis has large claws that enable it to grasp a hog's hair and move around its body. It is easily seen without magnification, being 5–6 millimetres (0.20–0.24 in) long. H. suis has a long, narrow head and long mouthparts adapted for sucking blood. It is the only louse found on swine. H. suis infestation is relatively rare in the US; a 2004 study found that about 14% of German swine farms had H. suis infestations. Due to the frequency of feeding, infected swine become severely irritated, often rubbing themselves to the point of injuring their skin and displacing body hair. Particularly afflicted hogs may become almost completely bald and, in young hogs, the resulting stress can arrest growth, a cause of concern for farmers.
Bovicola bovis is a cattle-biting louse found all over the world. It is a common pest of cattle of all types and sizes. They are one of many lice in the order Phthiraptera, but are divided from their blood sucking cousins in the sub-order Anoplura by the fact that they feed only by chewing. This makes B. bovis a member of the sub-order Mallophaga.
Pediculus is a genus of sucking lice, the sole genus in the family Pediculidae. Pediculus species are ectoparasites of primates.