1 research outputs found
Prevalence of Pediculus humanus capitis infestation among kindergarten children in BahĂa Blanca city, Argentina
The human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer (Anoplura: Pediculidae), is a worldwide public health concern. This human obligate ectoparasite usually infests school age children. The aim of this work was to investigate the prevalence of head lice in kindergarten children from Bahia Blanca. In addition, the influence of risk factors for pediculosis infestation, such as gender, hair characteristics, and socioeconomic class, was studied in relation to the prevalence of this ectoparasite. From a total of 220pupils examined (125 girls and 95 boys), 94 showed pediculosis. The overall prevalence of head lice infestation was 42.7 %.Pediculosis was more frequent in girls (53.6 %) than in boys (28.4 %) and in medium, long, and very long hairs. No differences were found between socioeconomic classes. This indicated that head lice are relatively common in kindergarten children from BahĂa Blanca.Fil: Gutierrez, MarĂa Mercedes. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de BiologĂa, BioquĂmica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Werdin Gonzalez, Jorge Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - BahĂa Blanca. Instituto de QuĂmica del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de QuĂmica. Instituto de QuĂmica del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Stefanazzi, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de BiologĂa, BioquĂmica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Serralunga, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Yáñez, Loreto Eugenia. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Ferrero, Adriana Alicia. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de BiologĂa, BioquĂmica y Farmacia; Argentin