√mosquito

√ housefly
√ fleas
lice
ticks
mites

The science which deals with the relation of

insects, arachnids, and other arthropods to
parasitic infestations and diseases of man and
animals.
Dr. Natalia Oli
Lecturer Dept. of Community
Medicine
Arthropods of medical importance

Class:
Insecta
Arachnida
Crustacea
Class: Insecta

Small wingless
ectoparasites of
mammals and birds

Lice (pediculus)
 Three types of lice infest man:

1. Head louse ( Pediculus capitis)

2. Body louse (Pediculus corporis)

3. Pubic/crab louse (Phthirus pubis)

Head louse

Pediculosis
 Head louse & Body louse
• 3 stages in the life cycle:
1. Eggs or nits
2. Larva or nymph
3. Adults
Nits or louse eggs

Hard to see and are often confused for

dandruff or hair spray droplets

Tightly cemented to the hair

strand.
Larva or nymph

looks like an adult head louse, but is

smaller
Adult
the adult louse is about the size of
a sesame seed, has six legs, and is
tan to greyish-white.
Head lice
have strong claws to
hold on to hair strands.
 Head lice (contd…)

• Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person’s

head.

• Head lice do not live long (less than 1-2 days)

if they fall off a person
 Dissemination
1. Direct contact
Close contact with lousy
or infested persons
 Dissemination
2. Indirect contact
a. From clothing, b. By puffs of wind
bedding, combs or
brushes
Signs and symptoms of head lice infestation
• feeling of something moving in the hair
• Itching (allergic reaction to the bites )
• Irritability and difficulty sleeping (most active in
the dark)
• Sores on the head
caused by scratching
(can become infected
with bacteria found on
the person's skin)  
Body louse
 Body louse

• Body lice live and lay eggs on clothing and

only move to the skin to feed.

• Body lice infestation - for a long time -

heavily bitten areas of the skin can become
thickened and discolored
Diseases caused by body lice

Epidemic typhus Rickettsia prowazeki

High grade fever

Maculo-papular rashes
Changes in mental status

Social factors:
Poverty,
overcrowding, infrequent bathing and
changing of clothes
Diseases caused by body lice (contd…)

Relapsing fever Borrelia recurrentis

• repeated episodes of fever

complications • after several cycles of fever,

some people may develop
seizures stupor, and coma.

Complications:
myocarditis
hepatitis
widespread bleeding
pneumonia
Diseases caused by body lice (contd…)

Trench fever Bartonella quintana

During WWI and WWII

Troops living under
unhygienic conditions

Chief symptoms :
headaches
skin rashes
inflamed eyes
leg pains.
Diseases caused by lice

Dermatitis Due to scratching and

secondary infection
Middle Age Europe
Middle Age Europe (contd...)
Pubic or crab louse

Generally found in
pubic or perineal
regions

can be found in
eyelashes, head and
arm pit hair

Does not carry any

disease
 Pubic or crab louse (contd…)

• spread through
sexual contact.

• on children may
be a sign of sexual
exposure or abuse
A common
misconception:

pubic lice are spread

easily by sitting on a
toilet seat
Control of lice
1. Personal hygiene
• Daily bath with soap and water
• Frequent washing if long hair
• Washing of clothing, sheets, towels
 2. Insecticidal control

Head & Crab louse:

1. Lotion containing 0.5% malathion
2. Dust containing carbaryl
3. Lindane shampoo (second line therapy)

Body louse:
1. Powder containing 1% malathion
(kills live lice and some lice eggs)
 Class Arachnida

• Arachnids do not have antennae.

• Arachnids lack wings
• Not distinctly separated into head, thorax and
abdomen
• Incomplete metamorphosis
 Ticks
Blood feeding external
parasites

Two families:

Ixodidae (hard ticks)

Argasidae (soft ticks)
 Hard ticks Soft ticks

• Shield-like scutum • Scutum absent

on dorsal surface

• feed at night
• feed both night and day
• can starve for
• cannot stand starvation
several months
 Ticks
• Lay eggs on the ground
• About 4 to 26 months to complete the life
cycle
• Incomplete metamorphosis
• Longevity of the ticks varies from 2 to 5 years
 Three categories of Hard ticks:
According to the number of hosts:

1)One Host Tick –larva, nimph and adult on one

host animal.
2)Two Host Tick – larva and nimph stage are on
host animal 1 and adult stage on host animal 2.
3)Three Host Tick – larva in host 1, nimph on
host 2 and adult on host 3.
Humans are alternate hosts
Tick life cycle:
Tick bite
 Ticks: diseases transmitted
Hard ticks Soft ticks
1. Tick typhus 1. Q fever
2. Viral encephalitis 2. Relapsing fever
3. Viral fevers
4. Viral hemorrhagic fevers
(e.g. Kyasanur Forest
Disease)
5. Tularaemia
6. Tick paralysis
7. Human babesiosis
 Tick Control

• Insecticidal control:
- e.g. malathion dusting or spraying
- thorough knowledge of tick habitat required
 Tick Control

• Environmental control:

- Proper landscaping
- Cracks and crevices in the grounds filling
 Tick Control

• Protection of workers
- protective clothing
impregnated with repellent such
as indalone
 Tick Prevention and Removal
“tick checks”
• Periodically check for and remove
ticks from clothing and bodies
• Should be done every 2 to 3 hours
(crawl about on their victims for
hours)

Routine checks could prevent an estimated 75% of all tick-borne

diseases

Protection:
• tucking trousers into the tops of socks and shirttails into
trousers:
• wearing light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot;
• treating clothing with insect repellants to reduce the number of
ticks climbing onto clothing.
Sarcoptes scabiei

Just visible to naked eye

1687: first disease of man

with known cause

SCABIES
MITES
(Itch mite)
 Life cycle of itch mite

Eggs: Female Larvae come Nymphs Adults

mites tunnel into out of borrows
the epidermis
 Itch mite: spread

• Close contact

• Contaminated
clothes
 Clinical signs
• Earliest and most common
symptom: itching,
especially at night.
• Mainly in hands and
wrists, also in
- Elbows
- Axillae, buttocks, lower
limbs

Secondary infection
Other family members?
 Treatment of scabies
• Scabies is easy and quick to treat with
prescription drugs (scabicides):
• 5 percent permethrin cream
• 1 percent lindane lotion
• Benzyl benzoate:
- In every part of the body
- Repeat after 12 hours
- Bathe after another 12 hours
• Treat all the family members
 √mosquito
√ housefly
√ fleas
√ lice
√ ticks
√ mites

End of module