Is There An Outbreak Of “Super Lice” In Your State?

Most states in the U.S. are dealing with a major outbreak of “super lice,” according to a new study in the Journal of Medical Entomology. The thought alone is enough to make your skin crawl, but it’s especially troubling because the news comes at a time when children are starting to head back to school. [1]

Just How Bad Is It?

Well, it’s pretty bad.

Scientists tested lice in 48 states and found that a shocking 42 of them are overrun with the mutant bugs. In these states, 100% of the lice tested were resistant to over-the-counter (OTC) treatments:

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• California
• Nevada
• Arizona
• Utah
• Idaho
• Montana
• Wyoming
• Colorado
• South Dakota
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Louisiana
• Arkansas
• Missouri
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Illinois
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• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Alabama
• Georgia
• Florida
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Virginia
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Maryland
• Delaware
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• New Hampshire
• Maine
• Hawaii

Majestic Pure Peppermi... Buy New $17.98 (as of 06:20 UTC - Details) Some, but not all, of the lice tested in 6 other states – New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon, New Mexico, and North Dakota – were found to be resistant to OTC treatments.

Alaska and West Virginia were not part of the study. [2]

OTC Lice Treatment

Traditionally, lice have been treated using insecticides called pyrethroids and pyrethrins.

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To give you an idea of how overused pyrethroids have become, a 2014 study by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), showed that of the urinary samples taken from adults and children in 90 California families, 2/3 had breakdown products of pyrethroids.

As of 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had found pyrethroids in more than 3,500 registered commercial products. [3]

I reported in April that pyrethroids used to be 100% effective against lice, but now they only work 25% of the time.

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