Investigation of head lice in a primary school in Tuşba district of Van province

Lice are obligate ectoparasites. The causative agent of head lice is Pediculus humanus capitis. Lice cause allergies by sucking blood from humans and due to the anticoagulant substances they secrete. They also cause dermatitis. Lice can also transmit some disease agents to humans. This study was conducted to investigate the frequency of P. h. capitis in some primary school students in Tuşba District of Van Province. A total of 414 students, 208 girls and 206 boys, were included in the study. 14.01% of the students included in the study, 21.15% of the female students and 6.80% of the male students had P. h. capitis infection was detected. It was observed that lice infestation was more common among girls. According to the positive status of the students in the classes, it was seen that it was 11.43% in first grades, 21.05% in second grades, 12.50% in third grades and 11.76% in fourth grades. When sorted according to classes, the highest infection was seen in second grade students. It was determined that 48.56% (201 people) of the students included in the study had long hair, 8.70% (36 people) had medium-length hair and 42.75% (165 people) had short hair. When the prevalence of infestation in hair length groups was examined, the highest positivity was seen in students with long hair with 21.89%. It was observed that 42 students, who constituted 72.41% of the 58 lice-infested students in total, lived in families of "five, six and seven people". The infestation rate determined by this study was more parallel to the studies conducted in Van province in previous years. This situation shows that head lice continues to be a significant problem in our region. Lice infestation does not cause serious clinical symptoms. However, it causes sociological and psychological problems in people. This situation is a public health problem. As a result, individual precautions should be taken to protect against diseases, care should be taken to educate families on this issue, and especially school-age children and parents should be informed about diseases and parasites and awareness should be created. It is also thought that it would be beneficial to regularly inform students and their families in schools in order to reduce the spread of P. capitis among students.