It’s a good week for ... bugs
Parents, be on the alert for scabby-heided weans. For a new breed of superlice is taking hold in children’s hair.
Research suggests nits have become immune to the most common treatments. A US study has revealed that 98 per cent of head lice have developed a resistance to pyrethrins and permethrins – the active ingredients in most over-the-counter remedies.
The report's authors, based at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, have urged parents of affected children to ask their doctor for alternative treatments to tackle the problem.
But presumably, sooner or later, those pesky critters will also become immune to these more sophisticated remedies. Prepare for the march of the superlouse.
Rabbie Burns appreciated back in 1786 the significance of the louse and its ability to transcend all social boundaries. So perhaps we need an ode for the modern age, or maybe just anither giftie gie us ... owre the counter.
It’s been a bad week for ... bugs
And Rabbie was right all along. Affluent people are as prone to the infestation of beasties as the rest of us.
New research has found that rich people's homes are more rife with creepy crawlies than your standard abode.
A US study found the average house is a haven for more than 100 different insect species. And the wealthier the area, the greater the variety.
The California Academy of Sciences researchers said their finding shatters the myth that “homes in poorer areas harbour more indoor arthropods”. Not surprisingly, perhaps, they found that the bigger the house, the greater the insect variety. However, neighbourhood wealth was also important, with richer areas home to more bugs and beasties.
This tallies with previous research, which found that wealthier neighbourhoods boast a greater variety of plants, birds, bats and lizards – a phenomenon dubbed the “luxury effect”.
There were no statistics specifically linked to headlice, but be certain the louse is as prone to social climbing now as he was in the Bard’s day, all the way to the verra tapmost, tow'rin height.
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