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Children living in orphanages are generally vulnerable to close-contact transmission diseases, including head lice infestation. The clinical manifestation of head lice infestation was relatively mild, such as itchy scalp, and hence it is often overlooked as a community health issue. Education plays an essential role in preventing re-infection and eradicating head lice infestation. The treatment options include chemical treatment using pediculicides and physical management by shaving the head and manually removing the parasite. This community service activity aimed to eradicate head lice from Yayasan Griya Asih Orphanage. A series of three activities were conducted at Yayasan Griya Asih Orphanage in Central Jakarta. Each activity was done around one month apart to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Firstyear medical students were recruited to participate in these activities to familiarize them with real-world community health problems. Student volunteers helped applied pulse doses of Permethrin 1% shampoo and provided health education activity. Fiftyfive Yayasan Griya Asih Orphanage residents joined this activity from mid-October until December 2022. Residents were instructed not to share their personal items to prevent re-infection. Health education activities were done using one-to-many followed by a one-on-one format. In conclusion, head lice infestation screening is essential in crowded environments, and permethrin 1% pulsed dose followed by personalized health education activities and pest control effectively broke the disease transmission chain and eradicated the head lice infestation.

Agriculture is claimed as Indonesia’s strategic pillar sector. The existence of a community-based enterprise with a traditional business model is often seen as a weakness, while social capital is a strength to thrive. However, a well-managed conventional business model can become one of the foundations of a sustainable livelihood. This community service program wass carried out with the Artha Mandiri Group, which is domiciled in Kemadang Village, Gunungkidul, Special Region of Yogyakarta. This program aimed to increase the economic resilience of group members by empowering and growing business capabilities with their social capital as their fundamental strength. The empowerment method used in this program was Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR), which is considered an effective tool for strategically transforming paradigms. This method focused on a balance between progressive, collaborative practice accompanied by an action research foundation. The 6-month program has resulted in collaborative business competency learning practice for group members, emphasizing different processing methods to produce business line diversification. This group made flour from land-owned rice paddy harvests with the same quality as commercially produced. This achievement can also have an impact on business cost efficiency.

Following school closures and changes in contact behavior of children and adults a reduced head louse prevalence has been reported from across the globe. In parallel, sales of treatments were observed to fall, partly because of supply problems of some products following the pandemic, but this did not appear to result in more cases of infestation. Surveys of schools in and around Cambridge, UK, found that infestation rates were significantly reduced particularly in city schools compared with similar surveys conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to expectation the number of cases in schools has only risen slowly since schools returned to normal full time working in 2022≥2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediculosis capitis predominantly affects child populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of social limitations such as social isolation and limitations on educational facilities' functionalities were introduced worldwide, including in Poland. The impact of these pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of pediculosis capitis has not been extensively investigated so far. Existing data on this topic are limited mainly to indirect evaluation methods, such as online surveys or Internet analysis. In this study, we directly examined a cohort of over five thousand children to assess the influence of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of head lice infestation among school and kindergarten attendees in Poland. Our findings demonstrate that the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the number of children infested with head lice compared to pre-pandemic data. These results confirm that head lice infestations remain an ongoing epidemiological concern and warrant continued monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following school closures and changes in contact behavior of children and adults a reduced head louse prevalence has been reported from across the globe. In parallel, sales of treatments were observed to fall, partly because of supply problems of some products following the pandemic, but this did not appear to result in more cases of infestation. Surveys of schools in and around Cambridge, UK, found that infestation rates were significantly reduced particularly in city schools compared with similar surveys conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to expectation the number of cases in schools has only risen slowly since schools returned to normal full time working in 2022–2023.

Background and Aim: Nowadays, there are many challenges in the treatment of head lice infestation and the efficacy of anti-lice products is a very important factor. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using vinegar before and after application of permethrin shampoo for the treatment of head lice infestation in the elementary school students in Qom Province. Materials and Methods: Our study inclueded 200 female students infested with head lice referring to two comprehensive urban health centers of Qom University of Medical Sciences from September to February 2020. The patients were between 13 and 17 years of age. Using blocked randomization with randomly selected block sizes, the patients were treated with either application of vinegar before or after using 1% permethrin shampoo. Removal of adult human head lice, nymphs, and nits were considered as the outcome of the treatment methods. Results: The current standard treatment method proposed by the Ministry of Health (use of vinegar after applying permethrin shampoo 1%) resulted in the treatment of the infestation in 45% of cases. But the experimental treatment method (using vinegar before applying permethrin shampoo 1%) led to successful treatment of 79% of the participants and showed a high Odds Ratio (OR = 4.6 CI = 2.5-8.5 p = .000). Conclusion: This study did not approve the current standard treatment method of the Ministry of Health (use of vinegar after consuming permethrin shampoo 1% for removal of head lice infestation). Therefore, we recommend application of vinegar before using permethrin shampoo 1%.

Background and Aim: Head lice infestation is one of the health problems that are more prevalent in schools, worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of head lice infestation in governmental primary school students in Marivan City and its related factors such as age, grade, gender, bathing and hair length in 2018-19. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Marivan City in the first semester of 2018-19. Using random sampling method, we selected 457 students from different regions of Marivan. SPSS 20 software was used for data analysis. Results: Among 457 students, 109 (23.9%) were infested with head lice. The rate of infestation was higher in the girls (68.8%). The highest and lowest percentages of infestation were detected in 29.4% and 2.8% of the fourth and first grade primary school students, respectively. There was a significant statistical relationship between head lice infestation and gender (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: The results of the study indicated a high rate of pediculosis capitis in the students. This high rate of infestation can lead to more spread of infestation among the students and, consequently, - can cause students failure at schools. It seems necessary to take measures to reduce this infestation by planning and designing training classes for school principals, teachers and parents of the students

Pediculosis is a parasitic infestation of the human head and body by Pediculus humanus. This is a benign condition commonly seen in children and capable of causing severe pruritus. The parasite thrives on human blood and in some cases, the volume of blood loss over time could be large enough to precipitate anemic symptoms in the patient. We describe the case of a 13-year-old girl who presented with shortness of breath on exertion, palpitations, and easy fatigability. An incidental finding of Pediculus humanus capitis  infestation was made during physical examination. Complete laboratory investigations did not reveal other possible causes of anemia, leading to a diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) secondary to severe chronic pediculosis. This case highlights a rare and unusual cause of IDA in children caused by pediculosis, and the need for a thorough investigation, close follow-up, and treatment., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Ogbuji et al.)