prevalence of pediculus capitis infestation among primary school students in east azerbaijan province, iran (2018 – 2019)

Background and objectives: head louse, also known as pediculus humanus capitis, is an obligate ectoparasite that is a distributed all around the world. the aim of present study was to determine the prevalence of head lice infestation in primary school students in tabriz, east azerbaijan province, iran. methods: overall, 3,032 students (1,515 boys and 1,517 girls) from 33 primary schools in tabriz were selected via multi-stage cluster sampling in 2018. the students were examined individually and privately by experts. head lice infestation was confirmed by detecting adult or nymph or nits less than 1 cm from base of hair. data analysis was carried out in spss software package (version 23). association of participants’ characteristics with pediculosis infestation was evaluated using logistic regression and chi-square test at significance level of 0.05. results: head lice infestation was present in 130 (4.29%) students, while the prevalence of this condition was higher in girls (2.11%) than in boys. the highest prevalence (6.05 %) was observed in children age 6 years old regardless of gender. the rate of head lice infestation was lowest among students aged ≥12 years (3.17%). there was a significant relationship between head louse infestation and parent’s occupation, family size, the frequency of combing and hair style. conclusion: although the prevalence of head lice infestation in tabriz is relatively low, screening and treating schoolchildren should be done continuously in order to reduce the infestation rate.