(Newswire.net — August 7, 2016) — Off all the states tested for presence of mutant super lice, only Michigan tested negative, Fox News Health reports.
The super lice have been found in 479 human subjects at 138 locations across 48 states. Alaska and West Virginia were not part of the study.
Scientists have tested some 14,000 lice, and reportedly, 100 percent of them managed to survive all conventional treatments.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends taking drugs like A-200, Pronto, R&C, Rid, Triple X and Licide. The main ingredient that kills lice in all the recommended drugs is pyrethrins, however, all tested lice appeared to bear the so-called kdr-type mutation which makes them resistant to pyrethrins.
“Given the extensive sampling done in the current study, it now appears that kdr-type mutations are widely and uniformly present in US lice, and susceptible alleles at these loci are rare,” the study explains.
Giving that a new school year is about to start, many parents are concerned about the mutant super lice outbreak in the US which significantly rose from 25 to 48 states.
The CDC reported that 6 to 12 million children between three and 11 years of age get lice every year, but the numbers incline sharply after school starts.
Authorities warn that the drug resistance of super lice is not a call for the use of home remedies such as olive oil, mayonnaise and Vaseline, because it can do more damage to hair and the scalp.
“Olive oil, mayonnaise, Vaseline, these are all treatments I wouldn’t recommend,” Dr. Robin Gehris, chief of pediatric dermatology at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, told NBC News, warning that some school nurses recommend such home remedies.
Although she doesn’t recommend home remedies, Dr. Gehris didn’t completely rule out mayonnaise. “Theoretically, it could work if you put it on thickly enough that the lice aren’t able to breathe,” she told NBC News.