Ectoparasites

Abstract

Ectoparasites are a taxonomically diverse group of organisms that infest the skin of human beings and other animals. Ectoparasitic arthropods and nematodes are similar in that an individual organism can produce skin lesions that are large enough to see with the unaided eye. Ectoparasitic infestations are often intensely itchy, causing considerable annoyance and discomfort. These conditions are often focally hyperendemic in impoverished communities, with a particularly high prevalence in vulnerable families, households, and neighborhoods.Pediculosis (infestation by head and body lice) and scabies are found to some degree in all human populations, but myiasis (fly larva infestation), tungiasis..