Pediculosis capitis among rural and urban schoolchildren in Nigeria.

The prevalence of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) was investigated among urban and rural schoolchildren in Ibadan City and three surrounding villages all in Southern Nigeria. 106 (5.7%) of 1860 urban schoolchildren examined were infested compared with only seven (1.5%) of 473 children from rural schools (P less than 0.05). Pediculosis appears to be an urban problem which may be associated with overcrowding. However, the intensity of head louse infestation was low among the urban schoolchildren with 74.6% of all lousy children harbouring one to five lice per head and only 6.0% with more than 30 lice per head.