Pediculus

(pi-dik′yŭ-lŭs )

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[L. pediculus, louse]
A genus of parasitic insects, commonly called lice, that infest humans and other primates. Lice are sucking insects belonging to the family Pediculidae, order Anoplura. They transmit the causative organisms of epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever to animal hosts.
SEE: Pediculidae

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