The diagnosis of head lice infestation is made through visual inspection of the hair and the scalp or by dry/wet combing. The choice of the method essentially depends whether the examiner aims at the detection of active infestation – presence of trophic stages and/or viable eggs – or wants to identify a historical infestation (presence only of nits/dead eggs). For the latter purpose, visual ins...

This descriptive, analytical study was carried out in 2003 to determine the prevalence of pediculosis capitis and some risk factors among primary-school pupils in Kerman. We selected 1200 pupils (53% girls) from 50 primary schools by multistage, systematic random sampling. Their hair was examined for head louse infestation: 45 (3.8%) were infected with lice, 43 (95.5%) girls and 2 (4.5%) boys. ...

Human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer) occur worldwide and infest millions of children and adults every year. Head lice infestations, which are known as pediculosis capitis, are psychologically stressful, physically irritating, and are one of the leading causes of K-6 school absence. The prevalence of head lice in many countries is increasing rapidly because of resistance to chemic...