And unfortunately, the new school year has brought the danger back.
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Medicines are not the only solution in getting rid of the lice.
During a research conducted by Southern Illinois University, scientists found that 24 out of 30 states in the United States have head lice that can survive against most of the OTC treatments recommended by schools and pediatricians.
Researchers presented their study last August 18 at the annual National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, which featured over 9,000 scientific presentations, a press release for the event stated.
Those are chemical insecticides used indoors and outdoors to kill insects such as mosquitoes.
Yoon found that lice with a specific gene, produced by a kdr mutation, were less susceptible to pyrethroids than previously expected. According to Yoon, mutations were observed in late 1990s in Israel and he was the first tone to report the phenomenon in the U.S.in 2000.
Alabama is one of those unfortunate states being invaded by the mutant head lice.
“I probably spent over $300 in over-the-counter products”, said Laurie Coleman.
Kyong Yoon, the leader of the research group, said the Connecticut samples were taken from one population in Weston.
In areas where there’s known resistance to the insecticides, doctors can recommend new prescription products. Since then, he has expanded his survey.
However, more and more often the remedies are not working.
Researchers have reported the discovery of mutated lice that are resistant to common treatments. Intermediate levels of resistance were seen in New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and New York.
Joseph said the Health Department also works with families to identify the source of lice cases.
But the situation also offers a cautionary tale. But these are increasingly becoming risible due to developing tolerance and even resistance to chemicals.
Head lice is tough enough to handle, but a new study has found that a strain of mutant lice may be all over the nation, and typical treatments available over the counter may be ineffective, causing the lice to develop an immunity, according to a Yahoo report.
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It was found by Yoon that numerous lice were certainly having kdr mutations that affect nervous system of insects and makes them less sensitive to pyrethroids.
