Head lice predictors and infestation dynamics among students

Two new studies have revealed that unnoticed transmissions in schools and families are likely to be the major drivers for outbreaks of head lice infestation.

The study by Birkemoe et al., published in the October 2015 edition of the Oxford University Press Journal of Family Practice, revealed that individual and household characteristics are of minor importance in the prediction of head lice infestations.

This study was based on datasets from primary school children in Oslo, Norway and tested siblings as lice predictors using self-reported monthly incidences of head lice to evaluate infestation dynamics.

The findings revealed that household characteristics were of minor importance and that class affiliation proved more important than school affiliation. The findings also concluded that infested siblings strongly increased the odds of head lice infestation whereas having short hair halved the odds.

Another study by Omidi A et al., published in the September 2015 edition of the Journal of Research in Health Sciences analysed the infestation prevalence of head lice and its relevant factors in the secondary schools of Hamadan, in the west of Iran.

The study revealed that schools of urban areas reported higher degrees of prevalence compared to schools from rural areas and that prevalence is more in areas which are deprived of the access to health facilities. The study also revealed that infection prevalence was higher where some individuals had previous history of lice infection and suffered from head itching.

The findings suggest that there is need for educational campaigns about danger of infection and regular mass screening.