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| | #REDIRECT[[Pediculosis capitis historical perspective]] |
| {{Head Lice Infestation}}
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| {{Rquote|right|Reliable data describing the usual incidence of infestation in the general public, in the average school community, or during specific times of the year are lacking.|Janis Hootman, 2002<ref name="Hootman2002">{{cite journal
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| | author = Hootman J
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| | title = Quality improvement projects related to pediculosis management
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| | journal = The Journal of school nursing : the official publication of the National Association of School Nurses
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| | volume = 18
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| | issue = 2
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| | pages = 80–6
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| |date=April 2002
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| | pmid = 12017250
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| | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12017250
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| | doi = 10.1177/10598405020180020401 }}
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| </ref>}}
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| The number of cases of human louse infestations (or [[pediculosis]]) has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s, reaching hundreds of millions annually.<ref name="Gratz">{{cite journal | author =Norman G. Gratz | title = Human lice: Their prevalence, control and resistance to insecticides. A review 1985–1997 | url = http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1997/WHO_CTD_WHOPES_97.8.pdf | format = PDF | publisher = World Health Organization | location = Geneva, Switzerland | year = 1998 | accessdate = 2008-01-02}}</ref>
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| Despite improvements in medical treatment and prevention of human diseases during the 20th century, head louse infestation remains stubbornly prevalent. In 1997, 80% of American elementary schools reported at least one outbreak of lice.<ref name="ConsumerReports1998">{{cite news | title = A modern scourge: Parents scratch their heads over lice | url = http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=102&sid=f97918a5-99c7-45da-a365-4324367c3566%40sessionmgr108 | publisher = Consumer Reports | pages = 62–63 | date = February 1998 | accessdate = 2008-10-10}}</ref> Lice infestation during that same period was more prevalent than [[chicken pox]].<ref name="ConsumerReports1998"/>
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| About 6–12 million children between the ages of 3 and 11 are treated annually for head lice in the United States alone.<ref name=cdc/> High levels of louse infestations have also been reported from all over the world including Israel, Denmark, Sweden, U.K., France and Australia.<ref name="JDD">{{cite journal| last =Mumcuoglu | first =Kosta Y. |author2=Barker CS |author3=Burgess IF |author4=Combescot-Lang C |author5=Dagleish RC |author6=Larsen KS |author7=Miller J |author8=Roberts RJ |author9=Taylan-Ozkan A. |displayauthors=9 | title =International Guidelines for Effective Control of Head Louse Infestations | journal =Journal of Drugs in Dermatology | volume =6 | pages =409–14 | year =2007 |pmid=17668538| issue =4 }}</ref><ref name="Burgess2004">{{cite journal | author =Ian Burgess | title = Human Lice and their Control | journal = Annual Review of Entomology | volume = 49 | pages = 457–481 | publisher = Annual Reviews | year = 2004 | url = http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.ento.49.061802.123253 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.ento.49.061802.123253 | pmid = 14651472}}</ref>
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| The number of children per family, the sharing of beds and closets, hair washing habits, local customs and social contacts, healthcare in a particular area (e.g. school) and socioeconomic status were found to be significant factors in head louse infestation{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}. Girls are 2–4 times more frequently infested than boys{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}. Children between 4 and 13 years of age are the most frequently infested group.<ref name="Mumcuoglu1990">{{cite journal | author = Mumcuoglu KY, Miller J, Gofin R, et al. | title = Epidemiological studies on head lice infestation in Israel. I. Parasitological examination of children | journal = International Journal of Dermatology | volume = 29 | issue = 7 | pages = 502–6 |date=September 1990 | url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-4362.1990.tb04845.x | doi =10.1111/j.1365-4362.1990.tb04845.x | pmid = 2228380}}</ref> In the U.S., African-American children have lower rates of infestation.<ref name=cdc/>
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| The United Kingdom's [[National Health Service]]{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} and many American health agencies [http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/cd/cdped.shtml][http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=186&PrintPage=1][http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/lice/page.html] report that lice "prefer" clean hair because it's easier to attach eggs and to cling to the strands; however, this is often contested.
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| Head lice (''Pediculus humanus capitis'') infestation is most frequent on children aged 3–10 and their families.<ref name="actadermatoven">{{cite journal | author = Nutanson I. et al. | title = Pediculus humanus capitis: an update | journal = Acta Dermatoven | volume = 17 | issue = 4 | pages = 147–59 | year = 2008 | url = http://ibmi.mf.uni-lj.si/acta-apa/acta-apa-08-4/1.pdf}}</ref> Females get head lice twice as often as males,<ref name="actadermatoven"/> and infestation in persons of [[wikt:Afro-Caribbean|Afro-Caribbean]] or other [[black people|black]] descent is rare because of hair consistency.<ref name="actadermatoven"/> But these children may have nits that hatch and the live lice could be transferred by head contact to other children.<ref name="merck_lice">{{cite web | title = Lice (Pediculosis) | last =James GH Dinulos |date=September 2008 | work = The Merck Manual | publisher = Merck & Co., Inc. | url = http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec10/ch121/ch121e.html | accessdate = 2008-12-27}}</ref>
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist|2}}
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| [[Category:Infectious disease]]
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| [[Category:Disease]]
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