Well, I guess it wasn't so easy as I thought it would be. I am unable to post a pdf. So here is the reference:

Arthropod-borne diseases in homeless. (eng; includes abstract) By Brouqui P, Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences [Ann N Y Acad Sci], 2006 Oct; Vol. 1078, pp. 223-35; PMID: 17114713;

You can email me for a copy of the article if you like.

Dennis Baker
drbaker@doctorswithoutwalls.org

It must say something about my character that this lousy subject has really interested me...especially the different approaches taken across national borders

To summarise:

All the US papers suggest that fomites as a possible vector for head lice are important and should be treated.

The UK advice is definitely that there is no evidence for this and certainly public health practice does not endorse changing bed linen / hats / hairbrushes etc. The resaon given is that a louse off the head is a non-viable, soon to be dead louse and not to be worried about. No credence seems to be given to the risk of viable lice emerging from nits on hair that is not attached to the head.

The only mention in the French paper of headlice treatment was of a shelter in Marseille when oral iver...something was used , to good effect apparently.

I guess it would not matter too much to the housed population as washing the bedlinen and avoiding sharing hats is not a big deal - nor is treating the whole household, although treating a whole school class simultaneously can be a challenge. But to treat / throw out a whole encampment's bedding and clothing IS a big deal, as is getting 25 people to treat all at once.

I hope MImi will tell us what she did and if it worked!

Post edited by: angelajones, at: 2007/09/11 22:21