The evaluation of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of head lice in North of Iran

Head lice infection is the most common type of infection with external parasites among children. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of pediculosis from 2012 to 2020 in Mazandaran province. In this descriptive study, available data in the health system of Mazandaran province was used. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22. The total number of subjects was 247678. Out of 247678 people, 246077 (99.3%) had at least one type of head, body or pubic lice. Of the total number of people with head lice, 244,957 (99.5%) had head lice. People aged 6-13 years with a frequency of 116330 (47.2%) had the highest frequency, which was significantly higher than other groups (P-value <0.001). The prevalence in the city of Sari was significantly more than other cities (P-value <0.001). Frequency ratio in males in the two age groups including less than 6 years of age and aged 6–13 years was higher than female while in other two groups it was not. Therefore, in the 13-year-olds, the prevalence of patients was higher in males, but in older prevalence in females is significantly higher (P-value <0.01). In addition, most females and villagers had head-lice. Personal hygiene, access to health care services and periodic examinations will be effective in preventing this disease.