Prevalence of pediculosis among primary school children in Tunisia.

Autor:	Farjallah D; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia., Belgacem S; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia., Remadi L; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia.; Molecular Entomology Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Heraklion, Greece., Chaabane-Banaoues R; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia., Trimech F; School and University Medicine Directorate, Monastir Regional Health Department, Ministry of Health, Tunisia., Fredj SB; Department of Epidemiology, University Hospital, Farthat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Tunisia., Babba H; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia., Haouas N; Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Biology B, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit [East Mediterr Health J] 2024 Sep 01; Vol. 30 (8), pp. 561-569. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 01.
DOI:	10.26719/2024.30.8.561
Abstrakt:	Background: Pediculus humanus capitis (head lice) infestation is a global health concern, yet no study has examined its occurrence among primary school children in Tunisia. Aim: To assess the prevalence of Pediculus capitis and its epidemiological characteristics among primary school children living in rural and urban areas of Monastir, Tunisia. Methods: We used 2-step stratified cluster sampling to randomly select 2396 children from 14 primary schools in Monastir during the 2022/2023 academic year. Head lice infestation was assessed through visual inspection of the hair, and data on the socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle and pediculosis history of the children were collected. We used SPSS version 20 to analyse the data and used descriptive statistics to rate the frequencies. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between pediculosis and the predictor variables. Results: Overall infestation rate was 17.5% (95% CI 16.0-19.1%); infestation was 5 times higher among girls (29.1%) than boys (6.3%). Schoolchildren living in crowded family households, those in the third and fourth grades and whose parents had low education level were more exposed to infestation. Combing frequency, comb sharing and history of previous infestation had significant impact (P < 0.05) on the prevalence of pediculosis. Multivariate logistic regression showed gender and treatment outcome as the main potentiating factors. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for pediculosis prevention and integrated health promotion programmes among primary school children and their parents, teachers and nurses in Monastir and other parts of Tunisia. (Copyright: © Authors 2024; Licensee: World Health Organization. EMHJ is an open access journal. All papers published in EMHJ are available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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