Pediculosis capitis prevalence among primary school students in Ilam County, Iran

The infestation of lice on the human body is formally known as Pediculosis. Pediculus capitis (Head lice) is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, and its infestation on the scalp is formally known as pediculosis capitis. Numerous cases of pediculosis capitis occur worldwide yearly, frequently in primary schools, which can lead to absence from work or school, discomfiture, and distress to people. A Descriptive analytics study was conducted on the primary school children of Ilam County from 2014 to 2021. After identifying the infested people, a questionnaire was completed with the help of the school officials and the students themselves. To analyze the collected data, SPSS version 21 software was used, including mean and standard deviation, frequency, and chi-square test. The significance level was also considered at P < 0.05. From 2014 to 2021, a total of 99,670 students aged 6 to 11 were screened in the present study for pediculosis. The pooled proportion of positive screening observations across all annual examinations was 2.83%. The highest prevalence of infestation was in 2017 (3.94%), and the lowest level was in 2021 (0.93%). The majority of samples infested with head lice are related to girls (57.77%). The chi-square test showed a statistically significant difference between head lice contamination and place of residence and history of infestation ( P < 0.05). The results showed that the prevalence of head lice in primary school students of Ilam city is lower than the national average, and its trend has been decreasing in recent years.