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Headlice resistant to common lotions

Researchers have warned that the most commonly used preparations to combat headlice will no longer work.

A study at 30 schools in Wales found a high level of resistance in lice to pyrethroid, one of the main chemicals used in lotions.

The study was carried out by Liverpool's School of Tropical Medicine and the National Public Health Service for Wales and recommends malathion based products for the chemical treatmemt of headlice.

The study looked at 2,800 schoolchildren, one in ten of which had headlice. Girls and children from deprived backgrounds were the most affected.

Any lice which were found were sent to Liverpool for tests and it was found that around two-thirds of the lice carried a gene variant which meant they had a resistance to pyrethroid-based treatments.

Headlice live on the human scalp and are spread by head contact. They cannot fly, jump or hop and most infections are caught at nurseries and schools.

Dr Daniel Thomas, of the National Public Health Service for Wales, said, "Our recommendation is that the chemical malathion is more likely to control head lice.

"Parents should ask the chemist for advice about which products to use. And it will say on the side of the box what chemicals the product contains."

He said parents of affected children should also check their own hair, and use a lotion if they found live lice there.

Professor Janet Hemingway, director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said, "We were able to show that there was a pyrethroid resistance.

"That means the lotion doesn't work as well as it should do, and you don't clear the infestation.

"It's not a major health problem, but it's a very significant social issue for parents and their children."

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