Impact of living conditions on head lice infection

A new study investigating the factors associated with head lice outbreaks reveals that the conditions of living areas and households play an important role in head lice prevention.

The study by Dehghanzadeh et al., published in the November 2015 edition of the Journal of Parasitology Research investigated the personal hygienic practices, family features, and environmental conditions of students and patients’ households in the urban and rural areas of northwest Iran.

The study revealed that the number of infected students was higher for girls than for boys and that the highest infection rate was obtained for students whose fathers were unemployed, a farmer, or a herdsman. Assessment of households showed that room flooring material and keeping animals at home were highly correlated with head lice prevalence.

The findings suggest that family income showed high correlation with the prevalence of head lice, and that a high frequency of head lice infection was identified among the students who were sharing individual items with siblings.