BackgroundHead lice infestation is a common public health problem that is most prevalent in primary school children throughout the world, especially in developing countries including different parts of Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with head lice infestation and pediculicidal effect of 1% permethrin shampoo in primary schools girls of Bashagard County, one of the low socioeconomic areas in southeast of Iran.MethodsIn this interventional study six villages with similar demographical situations were selected and randomly assigned into intervention and control areas. In each area 150 girl students aged 7–12 years were selected randomly and screened for head lice infestation by visual scalp examination. In intervention area, treatment efficacy of 1% permethrin shampoo was evaluated via re-examination for infestation after one, two, and three weeks. Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic and associated factors of head lice infestation.ResultsThe prevalence of head lice infestation was 67.3%. There was significant association between head lice infestation and school grade, family size, parents’ literacy, bathing facilities, frequency of hair washing, and use of shared articles (p < 0.05). The effectiveness of 1% permethrin shampoo for head lice treatment was 29.2, 68.9, and 90.3% after the first, second, and third weeks, respectively.ConclusionThe head lice infestation is a health problem in primary school girls of Bashagard County. Improvement of socioeconomic status and providing appropriate educational programs about head lice risk factors and prevention can be effective for reduction of infestation in this area.Trial registrationThis trial has been registered and approved by Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences ethical committee (Trial No.764). Trial registration date: March 17 2014.

Background Scabies is a neglected tropical disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows under the skin. It is a major health problem in tropical areas, largely affecting children. Scabies is common and highly contagious and in schoolchildren spreads quite rapidly, due to overcrowding and close contact within the schools. This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with scabies infestation among primary schoolchildren in Bashagard County, one of the low socio-economic areas in southeast of Iran. Methods To conduct this community-based, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, four primary schools were randomly selected in the Bashagard County. All students in these schools were selected and examined for scabies. Clinical examination and sociodemographic profile of students were assessed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the factors associated with scabies infestation by SPSS version 21 software. Results Out of 480 studied schoolchildren, 15 cases of scabies with a prevalence of 3.1 % were observed. The frequency of infestation in males was 1.6 % and it was 4.7 % in females. Independent factors associated with a high risk of scabies infestation in unadjusted analysis were being student of grade 5–6 (cOR = 13.12, 95 % CI 2.92–58.89, p = 0.0001), low educational level of father (cOR = 4.37, 95 % CI 0.97–19.59, p = 0.036), low educational level of mother (cOR = 4.14, 95 % CI 1.92–18.57, p = 0.045), joblessness of father (cOR = 14.77, 95 % CI 4.97–43.89, p = 0.0001), employment of mother (cOR = 5.28, 95 % CI 1.38–20.16, p = 0.007), large family size (cOR = 3.34, 95 % CI 1.05–10.64, p = 0.031), use of shared articles (cOR = 33.37, 95 % CI 10.82–102.90, p = 0.0001), and absence of bathroom in the house (cOR = 11.77, 95 % CI 2.16–63.94, p = 0.0001). Conclusions Results of this study confirmed that scabies is still one of the most important health problems in the primary schools of the Bashagard County. Low socioeconomic status and personal hygiene of the schoolchildren were the most important factors influencing the prevalence of scabies. Improvement of socioeconomic conditions and implementation of appropriate educational programs and active surveillance system to quickly detect and treat scabies cases are necessary in order to reduce the prevalence of scabies in schoolchildren in this area.

Background Despite decreases in incidence, malaria remains a major public health challenge in south and southeast Iran, where vector control is considered one of the main strategies for elimination of the disease. The efficacy of this strategy depends on understanding malaria vector ecology, which varies by species. This study was conducted to determine the species composition, seasonal abundance and distribution of potential anopheline vectors in Bashagard County, one of the important malaria-endemic areas in south Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional study, four typical foothill and mountainous villages were selected by simple random sampling. Anopheline mosquitoes were collected by the standard dipping method for larvae and total catch for adults. Anopheline specimens were morphologically identified using taxonomic keys. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver.20 software. Results In total, 1211 anopheline specimens, including 1055 (87.12%) larvae and 156 (12.88%) adults, were collected and identified. They consisted of 9 species: Anopheles moghulensis (27.89%), Anopheles dthali (18.91%), Anopheles culicifacies (16.60%), Anopheles stephensi (15.38%), Anopheles turkhudi (9.83%), Anopheles superpictus (9.66%), Anopheles apoci (1.40%), Anopheles fluviatilis (0.17%), and Anopheles sergentii (0.08%). The most prevalent species in adult catches were An. culicifacies (44.23%), An. dthali (21.15%) and An. stephensi (16.03%), and the most prevalent species caught as larvae were An. moghulensis (31.94%), An. dthali (18.85%) and An. stephensi (15.26%). Most of the anopheline species were distributed in different topographical areas and two proven malaria vectors, An. culicifacies and An. superpictus, were significantly associated with altitude and collected more frequently in the foothill regions. Most of the anopheline species were present almost throughout the year with a major peak in April and a smaller peak in October. Conclusion The results of this study revealed that there are five malaria vectors in Bashagard County and some of them are more abundant in areas with special topographic features and are reproductively active throughout the year. These findings can be applied to successful planning and providing effective control measures in problematic areas during the malaria elimination phase in Iran.

BackgroundIndoor residual spraying of insecticide (IRS) is a key intervention for reducing the burden of malaria infection. Effectiveness and success of this strategy are to a considerable extent dependent on knowledge and practice of the target community regarding the IRS. Iran has entered the malaria elimination phase, and IRS has been considered as the main strategy for malaria vector control. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the household knowledge and practices about malaria and IRS in Bashagard County, one of the malaria-endemic areas in the southeast of Iran.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 420 households in Bashagard County. The participants who were selected using a two-stage randomized cluster sampling procedure were subjected to a tested structured questionnaire. During the survey, direct observations were made concerning the use of IRS as well as housing conditions. The data were coded and analysed using SPSS version 19.ResultsKnowledge levels about malaria as a disease and the mosquito as its vector were high and of equal magnitude (85.5% and 85.4%, respectively), while knowledge levels of IRS were even higher (91.6%). The main source of households’ information about malaria and IRS was primarily community health workers (73.3%). Despite positive perceptions towards IRS only 26.7% of respondents had sprayed their houses which is lower than the WHO targeted coverage of 80%. Respiratory disorders and headache (33.3%), food contamination (24.9%), discolouring of inner house walls (17.7%), difficulty in furniture’s movement (13.8%), and unpleasant odour (10.4%) were the main reasons for IRS refusal.ConclusionThere is a discrepancy between knowledge about symptoms and the transmission route of malaria and control practices related to IRS use. Therefore, IRS campaigns accompanied with education for behaviour change should be considered to ensure householders’ participation and cooperation in the IRS programme. Moreover, continuous evaluation and monitoring of IRS as well as conducting more surveys on knowledge, attitude, and practices are recommended to improve malaria control measures and to identify indicators for effective, successful, and sustainable malaria elimination programme.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the main neglected vector-borne diseases in the Middle East, including Iran. This study aimed to map the spatial distribution and species composition of sand flies in Hormozgan Province and to predict the best ecological niches for main CL vectors in this area. A database that included all earlier studies on sand flies in Hormozgan Province was established. Sand flies were also collected from some localities across the province. Prediction maps for main vectors were developed using MaxEnt model. A total of 27 sand fly species were reported from the study area. Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli, Phlebotomus sergenti s.l. Parrot, Phlebotomus alexandri Sinton, Sergentomyia sintoni Pringle, Sergentomyia clydei Sinton, Sergentomyia tiberiadis Adler, and Sergentomyia baghdadis Adler (Diptera: Psychodidae) had the widest distribution range. The probability of their presence as the main vectors of CL was calculated to be 0.0003-0.9410 and 0.0031-0.8880 for P. papatasi and P. sergenti s.l., respectively. The best ecological niches for P. papatasi were found in the central south, southeast, and a narrow area in southwest, whereas central south to northern area had better niches for P. sergenti s.l. The endemic areas are in Bandar-e Jask, where transmission occurs, whereas in Bastak, the cases were imported from endemic foci of Fars province. In conclusion, proven and suspected vectors of CL and VL were recorded in this study. Due to the existence of endemic foci of CL, and favorite ecological niches for its vectors, there is potential risk of emerging CL in new areas.