Pediculosis corporis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The life cycle of the body louse Pediculus humanus humanus, has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult.^[1]

1. Nits are body lice eggs. They are hard to see and are often confused for dandruff. Nits are laid by the adult female and are cemented at the base of the hair shaft nearest the skin . They are 0.8 mm by 0.3 mm, oval and usually yellow to white.
2. Nits take about 1 week to hatch (range 6 to 9 days). Viable eggs are usually located within 6 mm of the skin.
3. The egg hatches to release a nymph.
4. The nit shell then becomes a more visible dull yellow and remains attached to the hair shaft. The nymph looks like an adult body louse, but is about the size of a pinhead.
5. Nymphs mature after three molts and become adults about 7 days after hatching.
6. The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has 6 legs (each with claws), and is tan to grayish-white. In persons with dark hair, the adult louse will appear darker. Females are usually larger than males and can lay up to 8 nits per day. Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person’s body.
7. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host.

Body lice are spread through direct physical contact with a person who has body lice or through contact with articles such as clothing, beds, bed linens, or towels that have been in contact with an infested person. In the United States, actual infestation with body lice tends to occur only in persons, such as homeless, transient persons, who do not have access to regular (at least weekly) bathing and changes of clean clothes.

• Typhus
• Louse-borne relapsing fever

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus, sometimes called Pediculus humanus corporis)^[1] is a louse that infests humans. The condition of being infested with head lice, body lice, or pubic lice is known as pediculosis. The body louse genome sequence analysis was published in 2010.^[2][3]

Pediculus humanus humanus (the body louse) is indistinguishable in appearance from Pediculus humanus capitis (the head louse) but will interbreed only under laboratory conditions. In their natural state, they occupy different habitats. In particular, body lice have evolved to attach their eggs to clothes, whereas head lice attach their eggs to the base of hairs.

The life cycle of the body louse consists of three stages: egg (also called a nit), nymph, and adult.

1. Nits are louse eggs. They are generally easy to see in the seams of an infested person’s clothing, particularly around the waistline, under armpits or even in body hair. They are oval and usually yellow to white in color. Body lice nits may take 1–2 weeks to hatch.
2. A nymph is an immature louse that hatches from the nit (egg). A nymph looks like an adult body louse, but is smaller. Nymphs mature into adults about 9–12 days after hatching. To live, it must feed on blood.
3. The adult body louse is about the size of a sesame seed (2.5–3.5 mm), has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white. Females lay eggs. To live, lice must feed on blood. If separated from their hosts, lice die at room temperature.

The body louse diverged from the head louse at around 100,000 years ago, hinting at the time of the origin of clothing.^[4][5][6] Body Lice were first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

• List of parasites (human)
• Types of body louses

• Body and head lice on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site

Template:Human lice Template:Pediculosis, acariasis and other infestations Template:Psocodea

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Body lice infestation is found worldwide but generally is limited to persons who live under conditions of crowding and poor hygiene who do not have access to regular bathing and changes of clean clothes, such as:

• The Homeless
• Refugees
• Survivors of war or natural disasters

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