Pubic or Crab Louse

Pubic or Crab Louse:

Identification

• Adults are 1.5–2.0 mm in length and flattened. They are smaller than body lice and headlice,
• The body is broad and short, and the front legs are much smaller than the second and third pairs.
• The first apparent abdominal segment bears a total of six spiracles on its upper surface.
• Eggs (also called nits) are 0.8 mm by 0.3 mm, oval and usually yellow to white.

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• It has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult.
• Eggs are laid on a hair shaft.
• Females will lay about 30 eggs during their 3–4 week life span.
• Eggs hatch after about a week and become nymphs, which look like smaller versions of the adults.
• The nymphs undergo three molts before becoming adults.
• Adults are found only on the human host and require human blood to survive.
• If adults are forced off the host, they will die within 24–48 hours without a blood feeding.
• The lice are transmitted from person to person most-commonly via sexual contact.

 

Damage and Medical Implications

• Lice are not known to transmit any disease.
• Signs and symptoms of this lice include itching in the genital area and visible eggs or crawling lice.
• Lice are spread through sexual contact and are most common in adults.

They cannot live long away from a warm human body. Lice or their eggs are mainly found on hair in the pubic region (occasionally found on the body). Lice may be difficult to find because there may be only a few. Lice often attach themselves to more than one hair and generally do not crawl as quickly as head and body lice.

Credit: SOA-AIDS Amsterdam

• Lice or their eggs are large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
• Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human pubic lice.