F. CLINICAL PICTURE

F. CLINICAL SYMPTOMS Most infested children suffer from pruritus, which in rare cases, the itch-scratch cycle can lead to irritability and loss of sleep as well as to secondary infection with impetigo and pyoderma. Swelling of the local lymph nodes and fever were...

D. BIOLOGY

D. BIOLOGY Head lice spend their entire life on the host scalp and feed exclusively on blood, 4-5 times daily. Man is the only known host of this parasite. Although any part of the scalp may be colonized, lice favor the nape of the neck and the area behind the ears,...

C. MORPHOLOGY

C. MORPHOLOGY Lice are wingless insects and the claws in their six legs are adapted for holding and walking on the hair (Fig. 1). Lice cannot jump or fly. Their mouth parts are designed to penetrate the skin and suck blood. Their color is grayish-brownish, but after...

B. HISTORY

B. History Lice are mentioned in the Bible as the third plague visited on the Egyptians when thePharaoh denied the request of Moses to let the Israelites go. From Sumerian, Akkadian,Egyptian, and Biblical sources it is evident that the ancient inhabitants of the...

A. HUMAN LICE

A. HUMAN LICE   Human lice are insect parasites, spending their entire life on the human scalp and feeding exclusively on blood. Humans might be infested by two louse species: The human louse, Pediculus humanus, which is represented by two sub-species: – The head...