Wednesday, 20 November 2002
D0622

This presentation is part of : Display Presentations, Section D: Medical and Veterinary Entomology

Transmission routes of the human head louse, Pediculus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae)

Miwa Takano-Lee1, J.D. Edman1, Bradley A. Mullens1, and J. Marshall Clark2. (1) University of California, Veterinary Medicine, Center for Vector-Borne Diseases, One Shields Avenue/Old Davis Road, Davis, CA, (2) University of Massachusetts, Department of Entomology, Fernald Hall, Amherst, MA

The potential of the human head louse to transfer from host to host was evaluated in the laboratory. Experimental subjects were reared in the laboratory on a live host. The tendency of head lice to disperse was examined with respect to different life stages, different physiological status (fed versus fasted), different densities, and over different time frames. A comparison of the feasibility between direct host head-to-head contact versus transmission via fomites is discussed.

Species 1: Phthiraptera Pediculidae Pediculus capitis (human head louse)
Keywords: transmission

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