City putting 'sting' on pesky mosquitoes May 8, 2008
Discovered centuries ago, pyrethrum was used in a powdered form to protect the French Army from body lice during the Napoleonic Wars. Today, extracted from the flower by solvents, it is sprayed into the air in Brookhaven. (Brookhaven Daily Leader, MS)
The European plague of the Maine Native Americans Mar 24, 2008
Typhus is a disease transmitted by fleas, mites, or body lice that may jump from a rodent host to a human host very easily, especially in the cramped quarters of a ship. One of the greatest issues that Native Americans faced in terms of disease was smallpox. (Courier Publications, ME)
The Meaning of Lice Mar 3, 2008
Despite the relatively mild problems posed by head lice, many people in this country continue to view them in the same "lousy" light as body lice, their much nastier cousins that are, in fact, associated with poor hygiene and are, in fact, a transmitter of dangerous disease. (Body lice are different from pubic lice, also known as crabs ... In parts of the Third World, where body lice are still common, head lice are viewed as nothing but a minor annoyance. (Boston Globe)
Mummy Lice Found In Peru May Give New Clues About Human Migration Feb 9, 2008
DNA sequencing found the strain of lice to be genetically the same as the form of body lice that spawns several deadly diseases, including typhus, which was blamed for the loss of Napoleon s grand army and millions of other soldiers, he said ... Today, the people who don t have the opportunity to change their clothes are the ones at risk for epidemic typhus, which along with the lesser-known diseases of relapsing fever and trench fever are carried by body lice, Reed said. (Science Daily)
Head lice trace our migration from Africa Feb 7, 2008
Type A lice include both head and body lice. The bloodsucking creatures can only live on humans they die very quickly away from their hosts and cannot survive on any other animals. (MSNBC -- International)
Lice from mummies provide clues to ancient migrations Feb 7, 2008
Currently, the researchers said, "the most likely theory" is that type-A head and body lice originated in Africa and were distributed worldwide long ago ... In another example of the uses of lice in science, Mark Stoneking, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, recently examined the assumption that body lice evolved when humans started wearing clothes. (International Herald Tribune)
Author gives girls true picture in 'Body Drama' Jan 14, 2008
A sort of Our Bodies, Ourselves for the millennial generation, it features 272 pages of candid discussion on virtually every topic, from body-mass index and depression to tanning, cellulite and body lice. USA TODAY's Greg Toppo talks with Redd. (USA Today -- News)
Out Of Africa Oct 31, 2007
The author gives us such delicious tidbits as the fact that the date of human adoption of clothing can be determined by the genetic history of the human body lice, which requires clothing (ours, not theirs) to sustain itself. Put the date at 70,000 years ago. (Forbes -- Markets)
Lice on the loose Oct 17, 2007
Certain lice, such as body lice, can transmit diseases, such as typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever, but most of the time having lice is more embarrassing and itchy than it is concerning as a disease. Lice die if they are away from a human's head or body for more than 2 days. (Wellington Daily News, KS)
Scientists discover new, deadly bacteria Jun 9, 2007
Named Bartonella rochalimae, the new species is a close relative of a microbe that sickened thousands of soldiers during World War I with what became known as trench fever, spread through body lice. It is also related to a bacteria identified 10 years ago during the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco as the cause of cat scratch disease, which infects 25,000 people a year in the United States. (NEWS.com.au)
SAN FRANCISCOPeru trekker's mystery bug is new to science Jun 8, 2007
"We found that the Bartonella cases among HIV patients were just the tip of the iceberg,'' Koehler said. Once thought rare, there are now 24,000 case of cat scratch fever diagnosed in the United States every year. AIDS patients also were afflicted by Bartonella quintana, the trench fever bacteria carried by body lice. Although no soldiers died of the disease during World War I, it caused such excruciating pain in their legs that they had to be sent back from the front lines. The bug responsible... (San Francisco Chronicle)
New bacterium discovered -- related to cause of trench fever Jun 7, 2007
A UCSF infectious disease team, in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions, found that the new microbe is genetically similar to one spread by body lice in the trenches during World War I. That bacterium, called Bartonella quintana, caused a disease known as trench fever, and debilitated tens of thousands of soldiers with severe leg and back pain and recurrent fevers ... Also, caregivers, and medical staff need to know about the different species, so, for example, AIDS patients are... (EurekAlert!)
‘Tour of Honor’ gives veterans rare opportunity May 20, 2007
A prisoner of war in Germany for six months, he suffered frostbite, hunger and body lice. He remembers splitting a loaf of bread among seven people. (Scranton Times, PA)
Genome Mapped For Mite-borne Typhus May 11, 2007
Previous studies of bacteria from aphids and body lice have presented minimalist genomes with no gene copies. The genome of the mite-borne typhus bacterium, on the other hand, has more repeated material that any other bacteria that have been mapped so far, says Siv Andersson. (Science Daily)
Lice warning for shelters Apr 14, 2007
She said most shelters, as well as schools, occasionally have problems with head or body lice and her staff routinely takes steps to keep the building free of such problems ... Katkowsky said the letter told the staff at other shelters to inspect the people they serve for hair and body lice ... "We're trying to build up business and have conventions come here, but if you have ... a body lice infestation and it gets into the hotels, that's a disaster," Terrill said. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Souvenirs from the trenches Apr 2, 2007
A three-year tour of duty in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force that had taken him to Ypres, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele ended with this seemingly curious note about body lice. Yet "being lousy," as it was known, was a common condition for soldiers in the trenches of World War I running a cigarette lighter along the seams of clothing was thought to be a way to torch the tiny tormentors. (Toronto Star)
Bed-hopping led humans to 3 million-year itch Mar 8, 2007
The second human species, divided into two subspecies, accounts for head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus). They are believed to have evolved from a species that split into two when chimpanzees and humans became separated on the primate family tree six million years ago. (The Australian)
These days, you have to be mean to be green Jan 17, 2007
Never mind that the generous use of hot water and detergent, particularly when combined in a washing machine for the laundering of bed linen and clothing, has virtually eliminated the infestations of body lice, fleas (which once carried plague) and scabies mites that used to be a commonplace feature of poverty. Or that the dishwasher - detested for its "wasteful" use of water and energy - which cleans crockery and utensils at temperatures high enough to destroy bacteria, has vastly improved... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Wooten: Go slowly on tax changes Jan 17, 2007
a couple of innocent trademark posts and this festering, quivering body lice is obsessively stalking again ... a couple of innocent trademark posts and this festering, quivering body lice is obsessively stalking again. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Don't bring bedbugs home for the holidays Nov 14, 2006
Bedbug bites must be differentiated from scabies, body lice and other insect bites. Most experts report that, although bedbugs can carry pathogens, they will not transmit infectious disease. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Victory in louse wars? Nov 13, 2006
Head lice unlike their close relatives, body lice don't carry diseases, says Dr. Sydney Spiesel, an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Yale University. "They're just a nuisance," he says. (Los Angeles Times)
Typhus, typhoid fever were deadly to soldiers Sep 30, 2006
Typhus is caused by microorganisms called rickettsia, carried by body lice. Unsanitary conditions allow body lice to survive. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, VA)
Know your lice facts Sep 19, 2006
Body lice or pubic lice are not the same thing. Head lice get their nourishment from human hair. (Kentucky.com, KY -- Living)
Pesticide cocktail in Coke, Pepsi brands Aug 3, 2006
Used topically for head and body lice) lIngestion can affect the nervous system, causing seizures and convulsions. It can cause vomiting, nausea and can damage cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. (India Times)
