Prevalence of Pediculus humanus capitis infestation among kindergarten children in Bahía 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 Bahía Blanca.Fil: Gutierrez, María Mercedes. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Werdin Gonzalez, Jorge Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Stefanazzi, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica 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 Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentin