Pediculosis capitis in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire: Epidemiological profile and associated risk factors

Pediculosis capitis risk factors in schoolchildren: hair thickness and hair length

The human head lice is a cosmopolitan ectoparasite that causes pediculosis. The main way of spreading lice is through direct head-to-head contact. It is popular knowledge that some individuals are more susceptible to contracting head lice than others. Reports of individuals who have never been affected by the disease are common, even living in the same environment and under the same conditions as people who regularly have lice infestations. Previous research has been carried out on the risk of this infection associated with different human factors like gender or age. However, studies on the influence of the individual hair characteristics are scarce. The objective of the study was to analyze the pediculosis risk using geographical location, gender, age and individual hair characteristics as variables. Pediculosis was diagnosed through the detection of living lice in the hair. This cross-sectional school-based epidemiological study was conducted in 310 schoolchildren aged 1 to 13 years of schools in 4 municipalities situated in the State of Paraná, Brazil. The prevalence of head louse infection in primary school students was 49.35 %. The Odds Ratio of presence of pediculosis (OR) was estimated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The results obtained indicate that hair length and thickness increase the risk of infection. Furthermore, the inclusion of hair color, hair shape, kind of hair-scale as covariates increases the risk of pediculosis, indicating that these variables partly explain this susceptibility and that pediculosis is independent of gender. A smaller hair diameter may favor insect fixation to the hair in the nymphal phases. These results may explain why girls are a greater risk as they let their hair grow for cultural reasons, i.e., being of female gender is an agglutinating variable. The conclusions drawn may explain the discrepancies obtained in previous analyses.

Treatment Modalities of Pediculosis Capitis: A Narrative Review

The review has been done to find out the best-suited treatment modality for pediculosis capitis. Pediatric patients frequently experience pediculosis capitis, a head louse infestation brought on by the Pediculus humanus var. capitis. The primary sign of head lice infestation is a scratchy scalp, and the presence of living nits confirms this diagnosis. When a doctor diagnoses pediculosis as a primary bacterial infection, a bacterial impetignization and secondary infection, and cervical and occipital lymphadenopathy might make the clinical diagnosis more difficult. A proper therapy of pediculosis requires screening and treatment of all close contacts. The careful use of topical pediculicidal treatments, especially permethrin lotion and wet combing with a fine tooth comb, is required for the medical treatment of a head louse infestation. We've tried to outline the key points of treating head lice infestations. There are several treatment alternatives suggested, including over-the-counter permethrin and pyrethrin as well as prescription medications including malathion, lindane, benzyl alcohol, and spinosad.

Epidemiological Study of Pediculosis among Primary School Children in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Background

Pediculosis is a common parasitic public health issue. Many socio-demographic and economic factors affect the pattern and prevalence of pediculosis. It is widely spread among pupils, particularly those in elementary schools. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Pediculus capitis infestation and its related risk factors in primary school children in Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study, overall, 2064 primary school children (aged 5-14 years) during the period from October 2019 to February 2020 were randomly examined for the presence of any stage of Pediculosis capitis in both urban and suburban areas. The schools were selected by multistage sampling methods. A questionnaire was sent to the parents to get consent and fill in for every single pupil. The results were computed using the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis.

Results

The overall prevalence of head lice infestation was (9.16%). The study found a significant association of Pediculosis capitis infestation with gender, parents' education level, mother's employment, number of siblings, and previous infestation. The older age of children (≥12 years old) and the higher-grade pupils (4^th to 6^th class) were more infested.

Conclusion

Head lice remain a health problem for school children. It needs collaboration of many sectors for decreasing and early detection and treatment in both urban and suburban areas since they have a close rate of infestation.

A Rare Case of Coexisting Pediculosis Capitis and Tinea Capitis in a Healthy Adult Female

Pediculosis capitis is a common condition caused by infestation with the human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, and primarily affects children in the age-group of 6-12 years. The most prominent symptom is intense scalp itching, yet moving lice or nonmoving nits may be seen on the scalp and hair. Tinea capitis, also known as scalp ringworm, is a superficial fungal infection caused by keratinophilic fungi termed dermatophytes. Tinea capitis is rare in adults, and its symptoms include hair loss, dry scaly areas, redness, and itching. We here report a case of a rare coexistence between pediculosis capitis and tinea capitis in an otherwise healthy adult female, motivating the search for a possible cause of this rare coexistence and alarming dermatologists to be aware of the modified clinical appearance of this coexistence which could be mistaken with other conditions such as cutaneous lupus erythematosus or lichen planopilaris.

[Parasitoses in childhood]

Parasitoses are a frequent occurrence in pediatric consultations in both hospitals and private practices. Responsible for this are parasites that permanently infest human skin, such as Sarcoptes scabiei hominis and Pediculus humanus capitis (persistent parasites) as well as those that only attack the skin for feeding, such as Pulex irritans, Cimex lectularius und Neotrombicula autumnalis (transient parasites). The main symptom of parasitoses is pruritus, which is caused by a delayed allergic reaction to proteins in the saliva of the parasites. In some parasitoses, such as scabies, the pruritus is typical, occurs particularly at night and is associated with a considerable impairment in the quality of life due to the resulting lack of sleep, whereas the pruritus is often absent in the case of pediculosis capitis. In this article persistent and transient parasitoses are characterized based on the patient history, morphology and symptoms.