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Head louse infestations continue to be a concern of public health in most countries, including the most developed ones. The present recommendations are intended to inform and stress the role and impact of the different authorities, institutions, industry, and the public in the control of head lice in order to reduce the prevalence of this parasite. We encourage health authorities to pursue more effective methods to correctly identify such infestations, and evaluate existing and new pediculicides, medical devices, louse repellents, and louse- and nit-removal remedies. Pediculicides and medical devices must have verifiable claims in the instructions for use and should be tested periodically to document current levels of resistance by lice to the active ingredients and to the formulated products. Where the prevalence of lice is claimed to be epidemic, children should be periodically evaluated objectively to document the actual level of prevalence. Continuing education for health providers and the general population promises to correct misinformation regarding the biology, prevention, and management of lice. Parents should regularly inspect their children for head lice and treat as necessary. Health authorities are encouraged to eliminate policies and practices that rely upon school exclusion as a means to reduce incidence and prevalence, e.g., the 'no-nit' policy which lacks scientific justification, and are counterproductive to the health and welfare of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parasite that causes babesiosis can linger in the body even after antibiotic treatment. Babesiosis is caused by the parasite Babesia microti, and the symptoms can resemble malaria. It is often considered a transient infection and is therefore not treated. In a study of 46 patients with babesiosis, parasite DNA persisted in the blood an average of 82 days in 24 patients who received no treatment. In these patients, symptoms lasted an average of 114 days if the parasite persisted for 3 or more months.

Babesiosis is a malaria-like illness caused by the intraerythrocytic parasite Babesia microti and is transmitted by the same tick that transmits Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Babesiosis is well recognized in adult residents of southern New England and New York but has been described in only five children. To determine whether children are infected with B microti less often than are adults, a prospective serosurvey was carried out on Block Island, RI, where babesiosis is endemic. Randomly recruited subjects completed a questionnaire and provided a blood sample. Antibodies against B microti and B burgdorferi were measured using a standard indirect immunofluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Of 574 subjects, 9% tested positive for B microti, including 12% of the 52 children (7 months through 16 years) and 8% of the 522 adults (not significant, P < .6). Although babesiosis had not been diagnosed in any of the Babesia-seropositive subjects, 25% of the children and 20% of the adults reported symptoms compatible with this infection during the previous year. Of the 6 children and 45 adults seropositive for B burgdorferi, 17% and 14%, respectively, were also seropositive for B microti. It is concluded that children are infected with B microti no less frequently than are adults and that this infection is underdiagnosed in all age groups. Physicians who practice where Lyme disease is endemic should become familiar with the clinical presentation and diagnosis of babesiosis, both in adults and children.

To determine whether the agent of Lyme disease disseminates in vertebrate hosts directly after deposition by an infecting tick, a 6-mm disk of skin was excised from the sites where nymphal Ixodes dammini ticks infected by Lyme disease spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi, had fed. Infection in each mouse was tested by examining xenodiagnostic ticks that had engorged on these mice 4 weeks later and by serologic testing. Generalized infection was aborted when the site of inoculation was excised within 2 days after the infecting tick detached but not after 2 weeks. In contrast, all mice became infected when the bite site remained intact. Spirochetes could be cultured from the tissues around the site of attachment solely when the sample was ablated within a week after infecting ticks detached. These observations suggest that infecting ticks deliver the agent of Lyme disease directly into the skin and that such spirochetes multiply locally for some days before disseminating to remote sites. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Head louse infestations continue to be a concern of public health in most countries, including the most developed ones. The present recommendations are intended to inform and stress the role and impact of the different authorities, institutions, industry, and the public in the control of head lice in order to reduce the prevalence of this parasite. We encourage health authorities to pursue more effective methods to correctly identify such infestations, and evaluate existing and new pediculicides, medical devices, louse repellents, and louse- and nit-removal remedies. Pediculicides and medical devices must have verifiable claims in the instructions for use and should be tested periodically to document current levels of resistance by lice to the active ingredients and to the formulated products. Where the prevalence of lice is claimed to be epidemic, children should be periodically evaluated objectively to document the actual level of prevalence. Continuing education for health providers and the general population promises to correct misinformation regarding the biology, prevention, and management of lice. Parents should regularly inspect their children for head lice and treat as necessary. Health authorities are encouraged to eliminate policies and practices that rely upon school exclusion as a means to reduce incidence and prevalence, e.g., the 'no-nit' policy which lacks scientific justification, and are counterproductive to the health and welfare of children., (© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Dermatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the International Society of Dermatology.)

Although lard-can traps have been used for sampling host-seeking mosquitoes for at least a half-century, the materials from which they originally were constructed no longer are available. We therefore devised a method for constructing such devices from parts available in the ventilation industry. These traps, baited with birds and mounted near the tops of trees, were employed to monitor the host-seeking activity of Culex spp. mosquitoes. Lard-can traps, constructed in this manner, are economical and sturdy and effectively sample the Culex mosquitoes that appear to perpetuate West Nile virus in North America.