1. Efficacy of 1% permethrin for the treatment of head louse infestations among Kosovar refugees.
- Author
-
Manjrekar RR, Partridge SK, Korman AK, Barwick RS, and Juranek DD
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Animals, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Lice Infestations ethnology, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, New Jersey epidemiology, Permethrin, Prevalence, Scalp Dermatoses ethnology, Treatment Outcome, Yugoslavia ethnology, Insecticides therapeutic use, Lice Infestations drug therapy, Pediculus, Pyrethrins therapeutic use, Refugees statistics & numerical data, Scalp Dermatoses drug therapy
- Abstract
We assessed the prevalence of head louse infestation and the effectiveness of 1% permethrin against head lice in Kosovar refugees. A currently infested case was defined as a person with observable crawling lice (adults or nymphs) or a person with nits on the hair shaft within a quarter-inch of the scalp. Of the 1,051 refugees screened upon arrival in the United States, 107 (10%) were infested. Crawling lice (adults or nymphs) were observed on 62 (6%) of the individuals examined. Refugees with crawling lice were treated with a pediculicide containing 1% permethrin. Of these, 57 were reexamined the next day. Twenty of the 57 individuals were reexamined 7 days after treatment. No crawling lice were found on any of the refugees examined after treatment. We conclude that 1% permethrin treatment was effective in louse control in this refugee population.
- Published
- 2000