Surveillance of insecticide resistance in head lice using biochemical and molecular methods

Daniel Rhys Thomas ^1*, Lynn McCarroll ², Richard Roberts ¹, Parakrama Karunaratne ³, Carol Roberts ¹, David Casey ¹, Sue Morgan ⁴, Kay Touhig ¹, John Morgan ², Fran Collins ⁵ and Janet Hemingway ²

¹ National Public Health Service for Wales, United Kingdom
² Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
³ Liverpool School of Topical Medicine, United Kingdom
⁴ National Public Health Service for Wales, United Kingdom
⁵ Welsh Assembly Government, United Kingdom

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: daniel.thomas{at}nphs.wales.nhs.uk.

Accepted 18 May 2006

Abstract

Treatment of head louse infection is primarily through topical insecticides. However there is growing evidence of resistance. We tested a representative population sample using biochemical and molecular methods and found that, in Wales, treatments containing pyrethroids are likely to be less effective in controlling head louse infection than those containing organophosphates.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Head lice, Resistance

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