Abstract
Lice are obligatory, permanent parasitic insects belonging to order Phthiraptera, which have a developed proboscis to suck blood from capillaries (suborder Anoplura) of mammals, or chewing mouth pieces, adapted to eat hairs and feathers, and sometimes also the skin and blood of birds and mammals (suborders Amblycera, Ischnocera, and Rhynchophthirina, formerly known as Mallophaga). Three of ca. 500 known species of Anoplura (Pediculus humanus, Pediculus capitis, and Pthirus pubis) parasitize humans, causing primary and secondary skin lesions, and P. humanus can transmit exanthematic typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever. Several of the ca. 4000 species of chewing lice can cause cutaneous lesions in domestic animals. Infestation by sucking body lice has currently been associated with bad conditions of hygiene, usually in wars and prisons, but head lice (P. capitis) has had a resurgence, associated with people crowding and precarious head cleaning. Control of body sucking lice is obtained by cleaning of clothes and bathing, but that of head lice needs careful collective surveying, associated with the use of louse combs, and eventually insecticides may be very carefully utilized. “Mallophaga” can be controlled by the application of insecticides to the bodies of infested animals. Due to the strong association of sucking lice with humans, mostly of eggs, adhered to hair or clothes, they can be utilized for forensic indications.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In 2008, a 3-year-old girl, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, whose mother had applied Diazitop® (Diazinon) on her head, died, and more than ten cases of intoxicated children were registered in that year.
- 2.
See Chap. 3 and Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” for references to lice control in the WW1.
References
Anane S, Malek I, Kamoun R et al (2013) Phthiriasis palpebrarum: diagnosis and treatment. J Fr Ophtalmol 36:815–819
Ashcroft MT (1969) Racial differences in Pediculus h. capitis infestation in Guyana. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 63:547
Barker SC (1994) Phylogeny and classification, origins, and evolution of host associations of lice. Int J Parasitol 24:1285–1291
Burgess IF (2004) Human lice and their control. Annu Rev Entomol 49:457–481
Busvine JR (1966) Insects and hygiene. Methuen & Co, London
Campbell JB, Boxler DJ, Davis RL et al (2001) Comparative efficacy of several insecticides for control of cattle lice (Mallophaga: Trichodectidae and Anoplura: Haematopinidae). Vet Parasitol 96:155–164
Clayton DH (1990) Mate choice in experimentally parasitized rock doves: lousy males lose. Am Zool 30:251–262
Clayton DH, Tomkins DM (1994) Comparative effects of mites and lice on the reproductive success of rock doves (Columba livia). Parasitology 110:195–206
Clealee RM, Lloyd JE, Smith JE et al (2004) Persistent activity of moxidectin long-acting injectable formulations against natural and experimentally enhanced populations of lice infesting cattle. Vet Parasitol 120:215–227
Durden LA (2001) Lice (Phthiraptera). In: Samuel WM, Pybus MJ, Kocan AA (eds) Diseases of wild mammals, 2nd edn. Iowa State University Press, Ames, pp 3–17
Durden LA, Musser GG (1994) The mammalian hosts of the sucking lice (Anoplura) of the world: a host-parasite list. Bull Soc Vector Ecol 19:130–168
Ewasechko CA (1981) Prevalence of head lice (Pediculus capitis ‘De Geer’) among children in a rural, central Alberta School. Can J Publ Health 72:249–252
Foucault C, Ranque S, Badiaga S et al (2006) Oral ivermectin in the treatment of body lice. J Inf Dis 193:474–476
Hoi H, Krištofík J, Darolová A et al (2012) Experimental evidence for costs due to chewing lice in the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster). Parasitology 139:53–59
Howard R, Moore A (1991) A complete checklist of the birds of the world. Academic, London, 622 p
Johnson KP, Clayton DH (2003) The biology, ecology, and evolution of chewing lice. In: Price RD, Hellenthal RA, Palma RL et al (eds) The chewing lice: world checklist and biological overview, vol 24. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publications, Champaign, IL, pp 449–476
Kuzner J, Turk S, Grace S et al (2013) Confirmation of the efficacy of a novel fipronil spot-on for the treatment and control of fleas, ticks and chewing lice on dogs. Vet Parasitol 193:245–251
Leo NP, Hughes JM, Yang X et al (2005) The head and body lice of humans are genetically distinct (Insecta: Phthiraptera, Pediculidae): evidence from double infestations. Heredity 95:34–40
Light JE, Allen JM, Long LM et al (2008) Geographic distribution and origins of human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) based on mitochondrial data. J Parasitol 94:1275–1281
Light JE, Reed DL (2009) Multigene analysis of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of primate sucking lice. Mol Phylogenet Evol 50:376–390
Linardi PM (2011) Piolhos (sugadores e mastigadores). In: Marcondes CB Entomologia médica e veterinária. Editora Atheneu, São Paulo, pp 279–334
Linardi PM, De Maria M, Botelho JR et al (1995) Alguns fatores epidemiológicos relativos à infestação humana por Pediculus capitis (Anoplura: Pediculidae) em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Rev Bras Entomol 39:921–929
Maunder JW (1977) Parasites and man. Human lice—biology and control. J R Soc Health 97:29–32
Mullen G, Durden L (2009) Medical and veterinary entomology, 2nd edn. Academic/Elsevier, San Diego
Mumcuoglu KY (1996) Control of human lice (Anoplura: Pediculidae) infestations: past and present. Am Entomol 42:175–178
Nelson WA, Bell JF, Clifford CM et al (1977) Interaction of ectoparasites and their hosts. J Med Entomol 13:389–428
Ohl ME, Spach DH (2000) Bartonella quintana and urban trench fever. Clin Inf Dis 31:131–135
Olds BP, Coates BS, Steele LD et al (2012) Comparison of the transcriptional profiles of head and body lice. Ins Mol Biol 21:257–268
Pollmeier M, Pengo G, Jeannin P et al (2002) Evaluation of the efficacy of fipronil formulations in the treatment and control of biting lice, Trichodectes canis (De Geer, 1778) on dogs. Vet Parasitol 107:127–136
Pollmeier M, Pengo G, Longo M et al (2004) Effective treatment and control of biting lice, Felicola subrostratus (Nitzsch in Burmeister, 1838), on cats using fipronil formulations. Vet Parasitol 121:157–165
Prelezov P (2008) Comparative testing of some insecticides for control of mallophagosis in chickens. Trakia J Sci 6(Suppl 1):78–81
Price RD, Hellenthal RA, Palma RL et al (eds) (2003) The chewing lice: world checklist and biological overview. Illinois Natural History Survey Publications, Champaign, 501 p
Robinson D, Leo N, Prociv P et al (2003) Potential role of head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, as vectors of Rickettsia prowazekii. Parasitol Res 90:209–211
Sholdt LL, Holloway ML, Fronk WD (1979) The epidemiology of human pediculosis in Ethiopia. Navy Disease Vector Ecology and Control Center, Jacksonville
Sinniah SB, Sinniah D, Rajeswari B (1981) Epidemiology of Pediculus humanus capitis infestation in Malaysian school children. Am J Trop Med Hyg 30:734–738
Slonka GF, McKinley TW, McCroan JE et al (1976) Epidemiology of an outbreak of head lice in Georgia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 25:739–743
Toups MA, Kitchen A, Light JE et al (2010) Origin of clothing lice indicates early clothing use by anatomically modern humans in Africa. Mol Biol Evol 28:29–32
Traub RT, Wisseman MD Jr, Farhang-Azad A (1978) The ecology of murine typhus—a critical review. Trop Dis Bull 75:237–317
Weidhaas DE, Gratz NG (1982) Lice. WHO, Geneva (WHO/VBC/82.858)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Marcondes, C.B., Linardi, P.M. (2017). Sucking and Chewing Lice. In: Marcondes, C. (eds) Arthropod Borne Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_32
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13883-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13884-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)