Pediculosis corporis or Vagabond's disease is a

cutaneous condition A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sys ...

caused by

body lice The body louse (''Pediculus humanus humanus'', also known as ''Pediculus humanus corporis'') or the cootie is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one of three lice which infest humans, the other two being the head lou ...

(''Pediculus humanus humanus'') that lay their eggs on clothing and to a lesser extent on human hairs.

Signs and symptoms

Body lice can cause intense

itch An itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes a strong desire or reflex to scratch. Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both ...

ing.

Risk factors

Body lice are spread through prolonged direct physical contact with a person who has them or with that person's clothing, bed linens or towels. In the United States, body lice infestations are rare, typically found mainly in

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

people who do not have access to bathing and regular changes of clean clothes. Infestation is unlikely to persist on anyone who bathes regularly and who has at least weekly access to freshly laundered clothing and bedding. Although louse-borne typhus is no longer widespread, outbreaks of this disease still occur in conditions where people live together in unsanitary conditions, such as prisons,

blockades A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, Contraband, supplies, Materiel, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or I ...

, disasters, civil unrest and war. This applies to all places where climate, poverty or war prevent regular changes and laundering of clothing.

Pathophysiology

Body lice frequently lay their eggs on or near the seams of clothing. They must feed on blood and usually only move to the skin to feed. They exist worldwide and infest people of all races. They can spread rapidly under crowded living conditions where hygiene is poor (homeless, refugees, victims of war or natural disasters). Body lice can also transmit other pathogens, especially those causing

epidemic typhus Epidemic typhus, also known as louse-borne typhus, is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters where civil life is disrupted. Epidemic typhus is spread to people through contact wit ...

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

and

relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus '' Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice, soft-bodied ticks (genus '' Ornithodoros''), or hard-bodied ticks (Genus Ixodes). ...

Treatment

A body lice infestation is treated by improving the

personal hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

of the infested person, including assuring a regular (at least weekly) change of clean clothes. Clothing, bedding, and towels used by the infested person should be laundered using hot water (at least ) and machine dried using the hot cycle. Delousing can also be practically achieved by boiling all clothes and bedding, or washing them at a high temperature. A temperature of for 5 minutes will kill most of the adults and prevent eggs from hatching. Leaving the clothes unwashed, but unworn for a full week, also results in the death of lice and eggs. Where this is not practical or possible, powder dusting with 10%

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

, 1%

malathion Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide which acts as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. In the USSR, it was known as carbophos, in New Zealand and Australia as maldison and in South Africa as mercaptothion. The compound's name is presumably ...

or 1%

permethrin Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide. As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice. It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion. As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto outer clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects ...

is also effective. Oral

ivermectin Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice ...

at a dose of 12 mg on days 0, 7 and 14 has been used in a small trial of 33 people in

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

, but did not result in complete eradication, although there was a significant fall in the number of parasites and proportion of people infected. Sometimes the infested person also is treated with a

pediculicide The treatment of human lice is the removal of head lice parasites from human hair. It has been debated and studied for centuries. However, the number of cases of human louse infestations (or pediculosis) has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s ...

(a medicine that can kill lice). However, a pediculicide generally is not necessary if hygiene is maintained and items are laundered appropriately at least once a week. A pediculicide should be applied exactly as directed on the bottle or by a physician. Medication, insecticide or burning of clothing and bedding is not necessary, as the problem goes away with daily bathing, and at least weekly hot laundering or drying of clothing, bedding and towels.

References

External links