Epidemiology of Pediculosis capitis in elementary schools of Buenos Aires, Argentina

CLAUDIA V. VASSENA, ARIEL C. TOLOZA, PAOLA GONZÁLEZ AUDINO, GASTÓN MOUGABURE-CUETO, EDUARDO N. ZERBA & MARÍA I. PICOLLO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; International Congress on Phthiraptera (ICP3); 2006

CIPEIN

The infestation with the ectoparasite Pediculus humanus capitis is a worldwide problem, mainly affecting elementary children schools. Previous works in our laboratory have shown the evidence of permethrin resistance in populations of head lice from Buenos Aires. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the prevalence of head louse infestations in five primary schools from Buenos Aires. A total of 357 individuals (168 boys and 189 girls) were examined for head louse infestation. The entire head was screened carefully for a period of 5-10 min. The resistant levels of the evaluated primary schools ranged from 100 to 300. Lice were removed using an antilouse comb. Infestation was defined as the presence of adults, nymphs and nits. The data were analyzed statistically using the chi-square test. Pediculosis was observed in all the schools. A total of 40% children were found to be infested with P.h. capitis. There was a higher prevalence of infestation among girls (51.85%) than boys (26.78%) (÷2=5.4, P=0.604). The most frequently infested children were aged between 6 and 9 years. Considering girls, the groups with more than 50% of infestation were aged between 6 and 10. On the other hand, the groups of boys with more than 30% of infestation were those aged 7 and 11. With respect to hair lenght, 99% of the examined children with long hair were girls, while 95% of the individuals with short hair were boys. Thus, an independent analysis concerning hair length was not possible to do. Prevalence differences between girls and boys could partially be explained by the fact that in girls it is more difficult to find and remove lice than in boys. Our results are in accordance with previous epidemiological works