Body louse
The body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus, is a human-feeding louse that lives and lays eggs mainly in clothing and can transmit infectious diseases.
Pediculosis corporis: An infestation of body lice, usually marked by itching and skin irritation where lice feed. This is the human condition produced by body-louse infestation.
Epidemic typhus: A severe infection caused by Rickettsia prowazekii and commonly transmitted by body lice. Body lice spread the bacterium when contaminated feces enter skin breaks or the eyes.
Pediculus humanus: The human louse species comprising the head-louse and body-louse forms. The body louse is traditionally classified as a subspecies or form within this species.
Louse-borne disease: Infectious disease transmitted by lice, including typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever. Body lice are major vectors within this broader group of infections.
Louse egg: The egg of a louse, commonly called a nit, attached to hair or clothing fibers. Body lice cement their eggs to clothing fibers, where they develop near the host.
Trench fever: A louse-borne infection caused by Bartonella quintana, characterized by recurrent fever and bone pain. The body louse transmits its bacterial agent between human hosts.
Pediculus humanus capitis: The head-louse form of Pediculus humanus, adapted to living and laying eggs on scalp hair. It is the closest human-louse counterpart to the clothing-dwelling body form.
Epidemic typhus in World War I: A major wartime epidemic of louse-borne typhus amid the crowding and deprivation of World War I. Body-louse transmission made typhus a severe threat in wartime populations.
Human blood: The circulating fluid in humans, carrying blood cells, proteins, nutrients, and dissolved substances. Body lice feed on blood taken from human skin.
Louse-borne relapsing fever: A recurrent febrile illness caused by Borrelia recurrentis and transmitted by body lice. Crushing an infected body louse can release bacteria that enter through damaged skin.