Great lice debate comes to a head

newscientist.com ^ | 13 September 04 | Rachel Nowak, Melbourne

[B4Ranch]

Great lice debate comes to a head

17:31 13 September 04

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A new genetic analysis may finally settle the question, and even help when it comes to getting rid of the little parasites, which are staging a comeback in rich countries.

Linnaeus named the human louse Pediculus humanus in 1758, but later realised there might be two sorts. Debate has gone on ever since. Those who regard body lice as a separate species point out that they are bigger than head lice and live in clothes rather than in head hair.

They can also transmit diseases such typhus and trench fever, something head lice have never been shown to do.

Other experts dismiss these differences and argue that, because head and body lice interbreed if kept together in the lab, they must be the same species. Then again, breeding under artificial conditions is a poor test of a species.

Two big families

To find out if head and body lice interbreed in the "wild", Natalie Leo and Stephen Barker of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, collected lice from seven boys in Nepal and four girls in Inner Mongolia in China.

A form of DNA fingerprinting of 443 lice showed there were two genetically distinct populations. "The head lice were one big family; the body lice were one big family," says Barker.

Further studies on children who shared sleeping quarters showed that the lice travelled from the body of one child to the body of another, or from head to head, but never between the body and head - evidence that the two populations were not interbreeding and that head and body lice are different species.

The best way to treat head lice is hotly contested. Many health authorities, including the US Centers for Disease Control, advise treating clothes and sheets. Other experts say parents should not waste time boiling clothes.

The latest findings, reported at an entomology conference in Brisbane in August, support the idea that the parents of children with head lice should concentrate on their heads. "For a head louse, shifting to clothes would be like setting out across the desert," says Barker.

Rachel Nowak, Melbourne

[cyborg]

Remember the scene in Gone With the Wind with Mammy and the lye soap? LOL

[Ulysses]

Remember the scene in Gone With the Wind with Mammy and the lye soap? LOL

Yeah...and remember the scene in The Shawshank Redemption? Fire hose first, turn around, fire hose second blast, turn around, throw the handful of de-louosing powder on the prisoner?

[cyborg]

Yeah I sure do... I couldn't help but think. Never would happen today that's for sure!

[B4Ranch]

If you're Dan Ra^ther, you can wash both at the same time.

All those Left Wing media types have always done it backwards on the advice of Krumbling Kerry. That's why they are all sh!theads.

[B4Ranch]

Nit-picking? No just some advice to give Dims (parasites) a wide path.

[luckystarmom]

All of us except my hubby got them. He was out of town. My twin daughters were 3 years old and had very thick hair. We tried the shampoo and they still were there.

Then we spent an afternoon with mayonaise in our hair with cellophane wrapped over our hair. We looked hillarious. After that, they didn't bother us.

[GSlob]

"I say we stand off and nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be SURE."
Regrettably, lice, cockroaches, ticks, RATs and other such vermin have pretty high resistance to radiation. Flamethrowers or massive doses of chemicals will do the trick. High time to bring back DDT.
As a bonus question: if a can of DDT were to be left open in DNC headquarters, how will it affect their operation? A can of malathion?

[merry10]

I unfortunately did a lot of research on this some years ago. Lice like clean hair better than dirty...my then 11 year old was going thru a not taking a shower phase. When the middle one got lice, they just kept multiplying and staying on her hair...less slick to grab onto.

[merry10]

the lice are becoming resistant to the RID and NIT stuff. It is better to go to the products at headlice.org and order the comb.

[GSlob]

Wouldn't shaving be better still?

[merry10]

I have three girls. I didn't think that was a true option for me! We got rid of it after 10 days. It was exhausting and expensive until we bought the comb. Don't buy the furniture spray; spend your time vacuuming and getting the lice off the head with the comb.

[ApplegateRanch]

Maybe those Muslim women have the right idea with their chador-thingamabobs...

...especially if they ride the city busses in Redding, CA.

[SunkenCiv]

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Note: this topic is dated 9/13/2004. Blast from the Past. Thanks B4Ranch. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.