Rick Speare
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
James Cook University
Townsville, Australia.

The following links are to more of my pages on head lice or to other reliable sources on the Web.

MY PAGES

Anatomy of head lice

• Buxton's The Louse
• Anatomy of adult head lice
• Eggs of head lice

Biology of Head Lice

• A lecture on the biology of head lice
• How much blood do head lice drink?

Treatment and Management Issues

• Head lice detection kit
• Four Group Concept for Head Lice Products
• Strategy to manage treatment failures
• Treatment of head lice is at a crossroad
• Head lice and the environment?

OTHER SITES

This is a very selective listing of WWW sites on head lice. I have listed only sites that contain accurate and original material, and whose owners are thoughtfully addressing various issues on pediculosis.

• Harvard School of Public Health: Head lice information
  An excellent site with data on therapy and insecticide resistance. Includes a submission form to allow people to have specimens identified.

  National Pediculosis Association (USA)

  NPA is the premier organization involved in head lice control in USA. The site contains a range of data on biology, treatment and control. Information is updated frequently. NPA is particularly active in promoting the "no nit policy" and physical treatments for pediculosis. The LiceMeister comb, argueably the world's best lice comb, can be purchased at this site.

  Susan and Steve Seale's: All you never wanted to know about head lice

  A very practical site that addresses a very broad range of issues on pediculosis. Includes some good scanning electron micrographs of Pediculus capitis and eggs. The section analysing alternative treatments is outstanding.

  Virtual Parenting - Head lice video.

  This video describes and demonstrates the techniques on the head lice information sheet.

  Lice Mare - a hi-tech personal account of pediculosis from Micscape Magazine.

  Not really an authoritive source, but good images and excellent entertainment value!

Bibliographic material on head lice

I have listed by own published papers on head lice (with one on pubic lice thrown in as a bonus), and a bibliography I have assembled on papers published on lice parasitic on humans. I have also included a link that allows you to search the medical literature for the latest publications on head lice.

• Canyon DV, Speare R, Müller R. Spatial and kinetic factors for the transfer of head lice (Pediculus capitis) between hairs. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2002;119(3):629-631.
• Canyon DV, Speare R. Do head lice spread in swimming pools? International Journal of Dermatology 2007;46(11):1211-1213.
• Canyon DV, Speare R. A comparison of botanical and synthetic substances commonly used to prevent head lice (Pediculus humanus var. capitis) infestation. International Journal of Dermatology 2007;46:422-426.
• Counahan M, Andrews R, Weld H, Walsh W, Speare R. What parents in Australia know and do about pediculosis. Rural and Remote Health 2007;7:687.
• Counahan M, Andrews R, Büttner P, Byrnes G, Speare R. Head lice prevalence in primary schools in Victoria, Australia. Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health 2004;40(11):616-619.
• Counahan M, Andrews R, Speare R. Reliability of written parental reports of head lice in their children. Medical Journal of Australia 2005;182(3):137-138.
• Govere JM, Speare R, Durrheim DN. The prevalence of pediculosis in rural South African schoolchildren. South African Journal of Science 2003;99:21-23.
• Heukelbach J, Araújo Sales de Oliveira S, Speare R. A shampoo based on neem (Azadirachta indica) is highly effective against head lice in vitro. Parasitology Research 2006;99:353-356.
• Heukelbach J, Canyon DV, Oliveira FA, Muller R, Speare R. In vitro efficacy of over-the-counter botanical pediculicides against the head louse Pediculus humanus var capitis based on a stringent standard for mortality assessment. Journal of Medical and Veterinary Entomology 2008;22:264-272.
• Heukelbach J, Kuenzer M, Counahan M, Feldmeier H, Speare R. Correct diagnosis of current head lice infestation made by affected individuals from a hyperendemic area. International Journal of Dermatology 2006;45:1437-1438.
• Heukelbach J, Speare R, Canyon D. Natural products and their application to the control of head lice: An evidence-based approach. Chapter 7. In G Brahmachari (ed). Chemistry of Natural Products: Recent Trends and Developments. Research Signpost: Kerala, India. 2006;1-26.
• Oliveira FAS, Speare R, Heukelbach J. High in vitro efficacy of Nyda® L, a pediculicide containing dimeticone. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology 2007;21:1325-1329.
• Parison J, Speare R, Canyon DV. Uncovering family experiences with head lice: the difficulties of eradication. Open Dermatology Journal 2008;2:9-17.
• Speare R. Hot water kills head lice experimentally placed on brushes. International Journal of Dermatology 2001;39:954-956.
• Speare R, Ahn S. Eradication of head lice in a nursing home. Australian Family Physician 1999; 28:915-917.
• Speare, R. Testing head lice: Letter to editor - reply. Australian Family Physician 2000; 29: 103-104.
• Speare R, Buettner PG. Head lice in pupils of a primary school in Australia and implications for control. International Journal of Dermatology 1999;38:285-290.
• Speare R, Buettner P. Hard data needed on head lice transmission. International Journal of Dermatology 2000;39:877-878.
• Speare R, Canyon DV, Cahill C, Thomas G. Comparative efficacy of two nit combs in removing head lice (Pediculus humanus var. capitis) and their eggs. International Journal of Dermatology 2007;46(12):1275-1278.
• Speare R, Canyon D, Melrose W. Quantification of blood intake of the head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis. International Journal of Dermatology 2005;online 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2005.02520.x.
• Speare R, Koehler JM. A case of pubic lice resistant to pyrethrins. Australian Family Physician 2001:30:572-574.
• Speare R, Canyon D, Melrose W. Quantification of blood intake of the head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis. International Journal of Dermatology 2006;45:543-546.
• Speare R, Thomas G, Cahill C. Head lice are not found on floors in primary school classrooms. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2002;26(3):208-211.
• Bibliography of lice parasitic on humans (File is about 150 kbytes)
  This is a list of papers published on parasitic lice. It is defective in its current form, but will be added to frequently.

  Search MEDLINE using PubMED for papers published over the previous 180 days on head lice: ["head lice" is the search term used]