Pediculosis
parasitic ectoparasitic infectious disease that involves infestation of lice, blood-feeding ectoparasitic insects of the order Phthiraptera
Pediculosis is an infestation of lice from the sub-order Anoplura, family Pediculidae. Accordingly, the infestation with head lice is named pediculosis capitis, while this with body lice, pediculosis corporis. Although pediculosis in humans may properly refer to lice infestation of any part of the body, the term is sometimes used loosely to refer to pediculosis capitis, the infestation of the human head with the specific head louse.
This can typically happen in young children aged 3-11 and is spread from head to head contact.
Classification
Pediculosis may be divided into the following types:
Pediculosis capitis (Head lice infestation)
Pediculosis corporis (Body louse infestation, also known as Pediculosis vestimenti, Vagabond's disease)
Pediculosis pubis (Pubic louse infestation, also known as phthiriasis)
Head lice
Presentation
Head-lice infestation is most frequent on children aged 3–10 and their families. The CDC estimates that 6 to 12 million children aged 3 to 11 get lice every year. Females aged 3–12 years are most commonly infested. Those of African descent rarely experience infestation due to differences in hair texture.
The infestation is spread by close personal contact and possibly by shared combs, brushes, hats, and other personal items. Head lice are spread through direct head-to-head contact with an infested person.
The public source identifies “Pediculosis” as parasitic ectoparasitic infectious disease that involves infestation of lice, blood-feeding ectoparasitic insects of the order Phthiraptera. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pediculosis, parasitic and ectoparasitic.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1343674. The Library of Congress control number is sh85099199. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pediculosis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.