Time to freak out, parents: Scientists say head lice are mutating

(Image credit: Alain Jocard/Getty Images)

last updated 18 August 2015

Ah, childhood: The telltale scratch of a scalp, followed by a parent peeking through the hair and discovering… head lice!

Do you have the heebie jeebies yet?

The common affliction has for decades been dealt with pretty easily, thanks to over-the-counter remedies — and that may be a problem, according to a new study presented on Tuesday at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. Researchers collected head lice from 30 states, and found that 104 out of the 109 lice populations tested had mutated, in what they believe could be a resistance to the chemicals found in current over-the-counter treatments.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says as many as 12 million children between the ages of 3 and 11 will wind up with the little buggers each year; the good news, researcher Kyong Yoon notes, is that head lice don't carry disease — "they're more a nuisance than anything else." The researchers recommend new treatments be developed with chemicals the lice have not mutated against — but in the meantime, maybe remind Kimmy not to share anyone's hairbrush at recess.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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