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69
provement occurs; this result is obtained through continuous
and rigorous inspection and re-inspection by the School Nurses.
It is not denied that there is a risk of spread through school
contact, and this risk is one of the reasons why the head inspections
are made. The risk of the spread of infestation is greatest of course,
where the nurses find the. vermin present in the head or clothes,
and whenever this condition is found, the children are excluded
from school.
For tabular purposes the infested children are grouped into
four categories, A.B,C, and D.
In Group A the children have very few nits, the nurses having
counted less than 10. In Group B there are a few more nits, but
the nurses estimate that less than 100 are present. In Group C
the nits are very numerous but no live vermin have been detected.
In Group D both lice and nits have been detected.
It is only the children in Group D who are excluded from
attendance at school, although notices are sent to the parents or
guardians of all who show any evidence of infestation. The
children in Groups A, B and C. are re-inspected at school, but
it is usually found that most of the children in these groups are
easily and quickly cleaned, and on re-inspection the heads are free
from nits. Instructions are given on the method of cleansing,
and these if carried out, result in the destruction and the disappearance
of the nits. While the nits are present, certain precautions
are taken and these precautions could be extended. The matter
will be referred to when the question of treatment is discussed.
The greatest difficulty is with the children whose heads and
clothes are verminous. The difficulty is not in the cleansing of the
child but with the underlying conditions. With the present vogue
of short hair in girls, the head can easily be disinfested in a day.
Former!}' it took a few days to get rid of the nits, because the parents
objected to have the girl's hair cut short. The nits had to be killed
and it was very difficult to treat them in such a manner that they
were easily removed from the hair. The nits could only be loosened
and slid along the long hair. This difficulty does not now arise,
practically all the girls have short hair, and there is no difficult}in
removing the nits from the hair.-
A great improvement has taken place, but there still remains
acertain number of children who are persistently and continuously
giving trouble on account of their uncleanliness. It may be stated
that most of the uncleanliness in the schools arises from about
families. This does not mean that only children from these 20
families are infested, but that if the children from these families