Investigation of head lice infection (Pediculus humanus capitis) and its related factors in Kerman: a brief report

Head lice is one of the threats to public health in advanced and developing societies. In previous studies in Kerman Province, the rate of head lice infection was reported to be 3.8%. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of head lice infection among female students of elementary schools of Kerman, and to identify the factors involved.

This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study from September 2019 to March 2019. The statistical population in the present study was female students from first to sixth grade of elementary school in districts one and two of Kerman. In selected schools, 2850 female students were examined by census. 179 people were randomly selected from different classes and after the examination; a questionnaire was completed for each of them. The extracted data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression tests. Odds Ratio was analyzed with 95% confidence (at the level of P<0.05).

Female students whose mothers were illiterate were 3.51 times more likely to develop head lice. Students who bathed once a week were 0.03 times more likely, and those who shared personal items were 3.6 times more likely to develop the disease.   In terms of father occupation, the highest incidence of head lice among the subjects was 8 people (66.7%) related to people whose father job was free and the lowest was related to other occupations of 4 people (33.4%). There was no significant relationship between     father's job and head lice infection in the subjects (P=0.061).

The results of this study indicate the high infection rate of head lice in elementary school students of Kerman. This high level of infestation can cause more contamination among female students consequently, and may cause students to drop out of the school. Serious attention to reducing this infection by holding educational classes for school principals and teachers, as well as parents, seems necessary.