The importance of socio-economic status and individual characteristics on the prevalence of head lice in schoolchildren.

Pediculosis is a common infestation in schoolchildren but little is known about the factors influencing its prevalence. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of head lice in schoolchildren in Ghent and to investigate the independent association between individual characteristics of the child, socio-economic status (SES) of the family and head lice. The prevalence of head lice at baseline and 14 days after treatment advice was determined by the wet combing method in a total of 6,169 schoolchildren age 2.