Phthiriasis pubis (crab louse infestation) is an ectoparasitosis transmitted mostly by skin to skin contact, primarily located in the genital areas and secondly, if treated late, expanding towards the armpits or other parts of the adult body with thick hair. In children before sexual maturation, the affected sites can include the eyelashes or head hair, usually after contact with an adult who has been sexually infected. Commonly, diagnosis is easy and requires finding eggs (nits) and/or insects, generally firmly hooked to hair shaft base. Because phthiriasis is included in sexually transmitted diseases, it is recommended to expand investigation to other venereal diseases.Recent reports about Phthirus pubis seem to suggest a change of its usual behavior, favoring a primary scalp location …
A girl dies in Georgia as a result of a lice infestation
When her family called the emergency services because the girl was unconscious and unresponsive, they found that she had a severe lice infestation. According to the police, it was the mother who called the health services but the investigators maintain that her extreme negligence caused the girl unbearable pain, which eventually killed her. Investigators refused to give any further details at this time, except to say that it was the worst thing they had seen.Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified that, at the time of her death, Kaitlyn had the “most severe” lice infestation he had ever seen, which may have lasted intermittently for at least three years. He added that he believed that repeated lice bites reduced her blood iron levels, which likely caused the anemia and may have triggered the …
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Human Head Lice and Their Ability to Transmit Disease: Bridging the Scientific History
Deborah Z. Altschuler. In the early 1900s, the French physician, bacteriologist, and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Charles Nicolle (1866-1936, Figure 1) engaged in scientific research on louse-borne epidemic typhus, which was prevalent in Europe and North Africa. Dr. Nicolle documented the ability of both the human body louse and the human head louse, Pediculus humanus, to transmit typhus. Scientific researchers Anderson, Goldberger, Murray, and Snyder, among others (https://www.headlice.org/comb/zinsser-project/zinsser-lice-and-history/) identified the head louse as a vector of the disease. Yet recent journal articles appear inconclusive on the capability of head lice to transmit disease, overlooking the conclusions of the early scientific trailblazers. See full article at: …
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A World Gone Viral
Pathogens still have the power to change the course of history. We may say we're fighting a war against the coronavirus, but it might be more accurate to say the coronavirus is waging a war against us. Microbes are changing our lives, our economy, our culture. You should know – though it will provide no consolation – that it has ever been thus.Perhaps you assumed that the ability of pestilence to transform the course of history was… well, history, in the sense that modern science, modern public health systems, and such modern bureaucracies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization would show those nasty little germs who's boss.The Ebola outbreak of 2014-16, the most severe in recorded history, only confirmed …
Ectoparasites: Pediculosis and Tungiasis
Pediculosis is an infestation of lice on the body, head, or pubic region that occurs worldwide. Lice are ectoparasites of the order Phthiraptera that feed on the blood of infested hosts. Their morphotype dictates their clinical features. Body lice may transmit bacterial pathogens that cause trench fever, relapsing fever, and epidemic typhus, which are potentially life-threatening diseases that remain relevant in contemporary times. Recent data from some settings suggest that head lice may harbor pathogens. The epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and management of body, head, and pubic louse infestation are reviewed. New therapies for head lice and screening considerations for pubic lice are discussed. Tungiasis is an ectoparasitic disease caused by skin penetration by the …
Rickettsia Prowazekii (Epidemic Typhus)
Rickettsia prowazekii is an intracellular, gram-negative coccobacillus. It is an obligate parasite. R. prowazekii belongs to the genus Rickettsia and is the causative agent of epidemic typhus. The genus Rickettsia is composed of gram-negative bacteria. Rickettsiae are the closest known relatives of mitochondria in eukaryotic cells.The vector for epidemic typhus is the human body louse. R. prowazekii multiplies in the gut epithelium of the body louse and explodes into the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, eventually killing the body louse in the process. In this regard, R. prowazekii is unique because no other known members of Rickettsia kill their vector. The R. prowazekii remain viable in the dead louse as well as in the louse feces. Viable R. prowazekii have been detected in dried feces of …
Where Are We With Human Lice? A Review of the Current State of Knowledge
Pediculus humanus is an obligate bloodsucking ectoparasite of human that includes two ecotypes, head louse and body louse, which differ slightly in morphology and biology, but have distinct ecologies. Phylogenetically, they are classified on six mitochondrial clades (A, B, C, D, E, and F), head louse encompasses the full genetic diversity of clades, while body louse belongs to clades A and D. Recent studies suggested that not only body louse, but also head louse can transmit disease, which warrants greater attention as a serious public health problem... Head louse infestation is very common worldwide, especially among schoolchildren, whatever their hygiene status, and the transmission occurs mainly by head-to-head contact. Adults with poor personal hygiene are also commonly …
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Severe pediculosis capitis in a nursery school girl
Pediculosis capitis is the most frequent ectoparasitosis around the world. The infestation is caused by Pediculus humanus capitis (head louse), which affects hair, scalp, and skin. It rarely presents with more symptoms and in the majority of the cases, it shows a benign course if treated properly. We present the case of a nursery school girl with head lice infestation for 18 months. She did not improve after the shampoo treatment. This case was associated with furunculosis, skin lesions, multiple adenopathies, and anemia. Initially, the presence of boils, alopecia, and lymphadenopathy was evident. The persistence of pediculosis capitis and intense scratching induced changes on skin integrity, facilitating opportunistic bacterial superinfection that led to impetiginization, furunculosis, …
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Genetic diversity of human head lice and molecular detection of associated bacterial pathogens in Democratic Republic of Congo
Background Head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is an obligatory blood-sucking ectoparasite, distributed worldwide. Phylogenetically, it occurs in five divergent mitochondrial clades (A–E); each exhibiting a particular geographical distribution. Recent studies suggest that, as in the case of body louse, head louse could be a disease vector. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of head lice collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and to screen for louse-borne pathogens in these lice. Methods A total of 181 head lice were collected from 27 individuals at the Monkole Hospital Center located in Kinshasa. All head lice were genotyped and screened for the presence of louse-borne bacteria using molecular methods. We searched for Bartonella …