Padzik Marcin, Olędzka Gabriela, Gromala-Milaniuk Anita, Kopeć Ewa, Hendiger Edyta Beata
Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland.
MAMY Z GŁOWY Sp. z o.o., Raclawicka 29a, 02-601 Warsaw, Poland.
J Clin Med. 2023 Jul 21;12(14):4819. doi: 10.3390/jcm12144819.
Pediculosis capitis predominantly affects child populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of social limitations such as social isolation and limitations on educational facilities' functionalities were introduced worldwide, including in Poland. The impact of these pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of pediculosis capitis has not been extensively investigated so far. Existing data on this topic are limited mainly to indirect evaluation methods, such as online surveys or Internet analysis. In this study, we directly examined a cohort of over five thousand children to assess the influence of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of head lice infestation among school and kindergarten attendees in Poland. Our findings demonstrate that the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the number of children infested with head lice compared to pre-pandemic data. These results confirm that head lice infestations remain an ongoing epidemiological concern and warrant continued monitoring.
头虱病主要影响儿童群体。在新冠疫情期间，包括波兰在内的全球各地都实施了各种社会限制措施，如社交隔离和教育设施功能限制。迄今为止，这些疫情限制对头虱病流行率的影响尚未得到广泛研究。关于这一主题的现有数据主要限于间接评估方法，如在线调查或网络分析。在本研究中，我们直接检查了五千多名儿童，以评估新冠疫情限制对波兰中小学和幼儿园儿童头虱感染流行率的影响。我们的研究结果表明，与疫情前的数据相比，新冠疫情期间实施的限制措施导致头虱感染儿童数量减少。这些结果证实，头虱感染仍然是一个持续存在的流行病学问题，值得持续监测。
