{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T16:49:55Z","timestamp":1790873395167,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,21]],"date-time":"2023-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1689897600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Pediculosis capitis predominantly affects child populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of social limitations such as social isolation and limitations on educational facilities\u2019 functionalities were introduced worldwide, including in Poland. The impact of these pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of pediculosis capitis has not been extensively investigated so far. Existing data on this topic are limited mainly to indirect evaluation methods, such as online surveys or Internet analysis. In this study, we directly examined a cohort of over five thousand children to assess the influence of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the prevalence of head lice infestation among school and kindergarten attendees in Poland. Our findings demonstrate that the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the number of children infested with head lice compared to pre-pandemic data. These results confirm that head lice infestations remain an ongoing epidemiological concern and warrant continued monitoring.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12144819","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]],"date-time":"2023-07-24T01:15:45Z","timestamp":1690161345000},"page":"4819","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Prevalence of Head Lice Infestation among Children Attending Schools and Kindergartens in Poland"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7503-7973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcin","family":"Padzik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14\/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7090-6156","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriela","family":"Ol\u0119dzka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14\/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anita","family":"Gromala-Milaniuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14\/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland"},{"name":"MAMY Z G\u0141OWY Sp. z o.o., Raclawicka 29a, 02-601 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ewa","family":"Kope\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MAMY Z G\u0141OWY Sp. z o.o., Raclawicka 29a, 02-601 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edyta Beata","family":"Hendiger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14\/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pedhc.2005.07.002","article-title":"Pediculosis capitis","volume":"19","author":"Leung","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. 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