It is then transmitted by blood-suckling lice on the human body (Pediculus humanus).

Sometimes called the ‘clothes louse,’ body lice are tiny parasites (known as Pediculus humanus corporis), which spread through close contact with other people.

Prevalence: The body louse lives in clothing & multiplies very rapidly under poor hygienic conditions.

The pathogenic agent of exanthematic typhus is discovered by Ricketts in 1910 but it is Charles Nicolle (1866-1936) who shows the role of body lice in its transmission.

Prevalence: The body louse lives in clothing and multiplies very quickly when the conditions of hygiene leave something to be desired.

Successful control and prevention of epidemic typhus consists of enforcing all measures available to destroy the body louse.

The bacteria are transmitted from human to human via the body louse Pediculus humanus, and control of the insect vector is a powerful means of preventing the spread of typhus fever.

The etiological agent, Rickettsia prowazekii, is transmitted by the body’s lung, Pediculus humanus corporis, which becomes infected by taking a meal on an acute febrile patient.

The etiological agent, Rickettsia prowazekii, is transmitted by the body’s lung, Pediculus humanus corporis, which becomes infected by taking a meal on an acute febrile patient.

Cause: The causative agent, Rickettsia prowazekii, is transmitted by the human body louse, Pediculus humanus corporis, which is infected while feeding on the blood of patients with acute typhus fever.

The tiny, blood-sucking body louse Pediculus humanus humanus L. seems to appear out of nowhere during economic downturns, wars and other crises that cause people to live in unsanitary conditions.