Total of 7,495 children including 3,908 boys and 3,587 girls from a kindergarten and 15 primary schools were examined for head lice infestation (HLI). The overall prevalence of HLI in this study was found to be 5.8%. Head lice were much more commonly detected in girls than in boys with prevalence of 11.2% and 0.9%, respectively. Sixty-nine children with HLI were treated with 1% lindane shampoo alone (group 1), and 45 children with HLI were treated with 1% lindane shampoo and oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (group 2), and follow-up visits were conducted 2 and 4 weeks later. The children who still had HLI 2 weeks after the primary treatment were treated again. At the 2-week follow-up visit, the treatment success rates of groups 1 and 2 were 76.8% and 86.7%, respectively, and at the 4-week follow-up visit, the rates were 91.3% and 97.8%, respectively. No statistically significant synergistic effect was observed for the combination of a 1% lindane shampoo and oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.
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The infestation status of head louse among children attending primary schools and kindergartens in Chinju-shi, Kyongsangnam-do, Korea, was investigated between June and July 1999. Out of 2,288 children examined, 3.9% of boys (48/1,242) and 23.5% of girls (246/1,046) were infested with nits or adult/nymphs of lice. The effectiveness of lindane shampoo (1% gamma benzene hexachloride solution) was evaluated after one or two time applications to all the children infested. The negative conversion rate of pediculosis was 93.5%. Effective control measures are needed to control and prevent such ectoparasite infestation amongst children.
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