The prevalence of head louse infestation among urban and rural children in Korea

Original Article


Korean J Parasitol. 1989 Dec;27(4):271-275. English. Published online Mar 20, 1994. http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1989.27.4.271
Copyright © 1989 by The Korean Society for Parasitology


The prevalence of head louse infestation among urban and rural children in Korea
K S Pai,M S Park,Y S Lee,D H Kim,K S Chung,K Y Lee,P K Kim,K Y Kim,T S Yong,^H I Ree,^ and S Huh^**
Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea.
^*Department of Parasitology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea.
^**Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chunchon 200-702, Korea.


Abstract
The prevalence of head louse (Pediculus hamanus var. capitis) infestation in preschool and school children in 9 urban and 8 rural areas of Korea, was investigated. Of 11,865 children who were examined for head lice and nits, 2,900(24.4%) were found infested. The over-all infestation rate of rural children, 58.9%, was higher than that of urban children, 14.4%. There also existed significant differences in the infestation rate among various regions of urban as well as rural areas. Females were more infested than males. But there was no differences in infestation rate in either sex of preschool age. The infestation rate increased gradually from the age of 6, reached a plateau between 9-12 years of age and thereafter slowly decreased. The infestation rate of an orphanage children was higher than that of general childhood population. Health education and mass-delousing attempt are urgently required to lower such a high prevalence of head louse infestation in Korea.

Figures


	Fig. 1 Head louse infestation rate of rural and urban children according to age and sex.

Tables


	Table 1 Head louse infestation rates of children in urban and rural areas


	Table 2 Head louse infestation rate of urban children according to sex and school grade


	Table 3 Head louse infestation rate of rural children according to sex and school grade


	Table 4 Head louse infestation rate of kindergarten children in six districts of Korea

References


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