In Lviv region, the number of people affected by pediculosis increased by 2.2 times - during 6 months of 2023, 183 cases of pediculosis were registered in the territory of Lviv region, compared to 85 cases in the same period last year.
The greatest incidence of pediculosis is registered among children under 17 years of age - 106 people, which is 57.9% of the total number of people affected by pediculosis, among the adult population 77 people affected by pediculosis are registered - 42.1%. Among children most affected by pediculosis in the age category of 10-14 years - 45 people (42.5%), in second place is the age category of 5-9 years - 32 people (30.2%), then children 15-17 years - 15 persons (14.1%), 1-4 years - 11 persons (10.4%) and up to 1 year - 3 persons (2.8%).
The prevention of pediculosis and the fight against it has a significant anti-epidemic value, because:
Lice are carriers of pathogens of Volyn fever, typhus and typhus.
When combing the skin in the places of lice bites and getting infected through the wounds, pustular lesions appear, with a significant spread, an increase in lymph nodes is possible.
Erythema, vesicles, and papules may appear on the skin as a result of lice bites, which may take the form of chronic dermatitis.
The relevance of pediculosis is determined by the fact that anyone can become infected with this disease, regardless of social status.
Infection with pediculosis occurs through direct contact with ingrown hairs, mostly hair, when using things shared with pediculosis - clothes, underwear, headgear, combs, hairbrushes, etc.
During close contact, the insect crawls from one head to another and continues its life cycle in a new place. In any organized collectives (kindergartens, camps, schools, boarding schools), contact between children is very high, therefore, under such conditions, mass lice infestation is often found. Close contact is also possible on children's playgrounds during games, on visits, at children's holidays, etc.
A person can be affected by pediculosis in public transport, hairdressers, baths, swimming pools, shops, at the place of study or work. Overcrowding and non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene contribute to the reproduction of lice.
Pediculosis is popularly called lice. The name is formed from the Latin word "pediculus", translated as "louse". This is a parasitic disease of the human skin and hair. Head, pubic and dress lice are distinguished, which settle respectively on the hair of the head or pubic hair, as well as in clothes. Infestation with head and dress lice is called pediculosis, pubic lice - phthisis.
Parasitism of lice on the head causes quite strong itching, which is most intense in the area of the temples, the back of the head, behind the ears. Itching of the scalp occurs due to irritation with the secretion secreted by lice at the site of the bite during blood-sucking. A person combs an itchy area of the skin and rubs excrement of lice into the wound, which may contain pathogens of infectious diseases. So the latter get into the blood of a person, infecting him.
During their life, lice stay on the human body and feed on his blood, during their development they go through 3 stages: egg-nit, larva and mature louse. The egg has an oblong shape (1.0-1.5 mm), yellowish-white in color, firmly glued to the hair. The larva is grayish-brown in color, moves with the help of 3 pairs of legs with claws, which allows them to hold firmly on hair or fabric, including synthetic Adult lice are grayish-brown in color, darker after bloodsucking, females are larger than males.
The cloth louse has a body length: 2.3-4.75 mm in the female, 2.1-3.7 mm in the male. It lives in a person's underwear, with a large number it can settle in clothes, bed linen, stockings, shoes. For blood-sucking, clothes lice come to the skin, to lay eggs they gather in the warmest places - assemblies, seams and others. The female clothes louse lays eggs in bunches of 6-14 pieces per day (200-300 pieces in a lifetime). Eggs are firmly connected to the fabric. The life span of lice is 32-46 days.
The head louse most often lives in the hairy part of the head, mainly on the temples, nape of the neck, crown, but it can also be found on the body, clothes, and underwear. The female lays up to 4 eggs per day (150 eggs in a lifetime) on the hair, which are very firmly attached to the hair at the root due to the substance secreted by the female. The lifespan of adult lice is 27-38 days. If a person has a lot of hair, lice can crawl on the floor and on various objects, on which they can remain viable for 2 days.
The appearance of lice should be prevented:
Strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene.
Carry out systematic cleaning of premises.
Keep household items and furniture clean.
Parents should monitor children's observance of personal hygiene rules and regularly inspect the child's hair.
In children's organized collectives, the examination of children for pediculosis should be regularly carried out by a medical worker or
the teacher, however, parents should also examine the child's head, regardless of whether he attends a daycare center.
If, despite personal hygiene measures, lice and nits still appear, they must be destroyed. The fight against lice includes a set of measures to destroy lice (disinfection measures) on:
human body
· clothes,
· bedding (mattress, blanket, pillow),
· indoor surfaces.
Disinsection measures to combat lice include the following control methods:
Chemical method.
Through the pharmacy network, a wide range of anti-pediculosis drugs is sold, with the help of which you can get rid of these parasites. It is important to follow the instructions for the use of this or that drug and follow its expiration date.
Mechanical method.
The use of pediculicides is not recommended for some categories of people with head lice, for example, for children under 5 years old, pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding, people with allergic diseases. The use of a mechanical method is recommended for these hairy individuals: washing the body, combing out lice with a thick comb, cutting and shaving.
Since head lice can be found not only on the hair part of the head, but also on other parts of the body, after anti-pediculosis treatment it is necessary to wash the body thoroughly, preferably using detergents.
Physical method.
Among the physical methods, high temperature treatment is used. A nit has a dense shell that protects it from the influence of various adverse environmental factors, so washing clothes without boiling does not free it from nits that remain alive.
Hairy linen must be boiled in a 2% solution of soda ash for 15 minutes from the moment of boiling, ironed on both sides, paying special attention to seams, assemblies and wrinkles.
For the processing of clothes and bedding, mainly chamber disinsection is used, which is carried out at the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The effect of combating lice will be achieved only if they are simultaneously destroyed on the head, body, underwear, clothes and other things.
When pediculosis is detected, you should contact the structural divisions of the State Institution "Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine", whose specialists will carry out the necessary set of anti-epidemic measures, including anti-pediculosis treatment, chamber disinfection of clothes and bedding.
Doctor-disinfectant of the epidemiological department
supervision (observation) and prevention
of Infectious Diseases, State University "Lviv State Medical Center of the Ministry of Health" Iryna Sysun