[kdlynn (OP)]

We've all heard about people getting lice from hats or the seats at the movie theatre, or from sharing a hair brush, but how long do parasites, like lice or fungi, live without having a human or other host to live on?

[paul.fr]

Head lice generally can not live longer than a day, without the human host. Most "facts" about head lice, are wrong. The can not fly, jump, don't have big hind legs and can not be carried on flies legs or hitch a ride on their backs!

[another_someone]

Depends what you mean by parasites like lice or fungi?

Some parasites can live on other hosts besides humans, and move from one to another (such as malaria, which must first pass through a mosquito, and can then live off a wide range of other animals besides humans).

Other parasites (in particular, some fungi) can live dormant as spores for some considerable time without any host (but I don't have time scales).

[kdlynn (OP)]

thanks guys! you see, one of my cousins is a wrestler at school and he decided not to tell his mom that he somehow got ringworm. he said he's had it for a while and we were all wondering if we're going to end up with it from rubbing up against something his ring worm had also rubbed against.

[that mad man]

I had ringworm as a child, fairly common in the 50's and 60's and from what I can gather it was cause by eating some raw bacon or something similar that was not cooked. Animal husbandry and food hygiene has got a lot better since then and a lot of what were common practices have now been banned.

Mind you, having said that I just remembered BSE.  [:I]

I don't think they are infectious and passed on by touch but have to be ingested.

Wild animals are prone to them and they are common in cats and dogs as they can get them from eating rodents and rotten food. One reason to worm them every 6 months.

[another_someone]

I think you are confusing ringworm (which is really a fungal infection) with real worms, which would have to be ingested (and pork was not uncommon).

[that mad man]

Opps again.  [:I]

Sorry, I seem to be going through a senile menopause tonight........ []

Its confusing as the worms are called roundworms!

Ring, round see what I mean, I blame it all on them that named a fungi after a worm!

Its a conspiracy I tell ya!

Bee

[Carol-A]

Ringworm is caused by a similar fungus to athletes foot.

[kdlynn (OP)]

does it have to be passed directly from one human or animal to another, or can it live on surfaces waiting to be picked up?

[Bored chemist]

It can be picked up from floors, towels etc, but I can't find anything on the net that says how long it survives.

[kdlynn (OP)]

i couldn't find anything either. i would imagine that if my aunt or her other kids were going to get it it would have shown up by now.