Lice

Valeria Fabre, M.D.

MICROBIOLOGY

Ectoparasites that cause an infestation rather than infection.
- Lice live on human hosts by blood meals after piercing skin and injecting saliva that then causes pruritus.
Lice can survive away from the human host for up to 10 days, after which they die of starvation.
Three species infest humans:
- Phthirus pubis (crab louse, pubic louse)
- Pediculus humanus humanus (body louse)
- Pediculus humanus capitis (head louse)
Life cycle: The female lives 1-3 months and lays up to 300 eggs (nits). Nits hatch in 6-10 days, giving rise to nymphs that become adults in 10 days.

There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.