Study of head louse infestation rate and its related factors in primary school students in Marivan city, 2018-19.

Background: Head lice are the insects that are considered as external parasites of human and today are considered as one of the health problems in different societies. Head lice infestation is called pediculosis, which is more common in children aged 5 to 14 years. Primary school students are more likely to be exposed due to close contact with each other.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of head lice infection in elementary school students in Marivan city and its related factors in 2018-19.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Marivan during the semester of 1977-98. The study population consisted of all elementary students of Marivan city, out of which 457 students were selected and surveyed by random quota sampling method from different regions of Marivan city. The collected data were entered into the computer and analyzed using SPSS 20 software.Results: Of the examined students, 109 (23.9%) were infected with head lice. The rate of infection was higher in girls than boys, so that 68.8% of infected students were female students. The highest and lowest infection rates were observed in 29.4% and 2.8% of the fourth and first grade students, respectively. There was a significant difference between sex and infection (p = 0.0001).Conclusion: The results of this study showed high prevalence of head lice in students. This high level of contamination can lead to more contamination among students and consequently can cause students to drop out of school. Serious attention to reducing this contamination by conducting educational classes for school principals and teachers as well as parents of students seems necessary.

Keywords:

Head lice , Infection , Students , Pediculosis