epidemiology and morbidity of head lice infestation in khorram-shahr county, iran (2006-2009)

background: pediculosis capitis is a continuous common health problem worldwide. pediculus capitis distributes quickly in overcrowded regions. the goal of the present research was to determine some epidemiological features of head lice infestation in khorram-shahr county, southwestern iran.   methods: this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the patients with head lice infestation who referred to the khorram-shahr health center during 2006 to 2009. the gold standard in the diagnosis of infestation was the detection of living nymphs, adults and/or nits on the scalp and hair. after the visual inspections with using a lens and the aid of an ordinary comb, cases were asked to complete a data gathering form containing some questions about demographic and epidemiologic features. the collected information was evaluated using spss software, version 11.5.   results: totally, 1091 patients were infested with pediculosis capitis. the overall prevalence of head lice infestation during the four- year period was 0.73%. girls were significantly more infested (87.2%) than boys (12.8%). pediculosis capitis infestations were highest (46.2%) in subjects aged 6-10 and lowest in those aged less than six (6.4%). the majority of cases lived in the rural areas. the percentage of infestation in rural and urban patients was 59.2% and 40.8%, respectively. nearly, 11.8% of the patients with head lice had a history of infestation. most of the cases were found in the autumn (35.8%).   conclusion: girls were more frequently infested with pediculus capitis than boys. it can also be concluded that head lice infestation is not highly prevalent in khorram-shahr.