Mutant lice are probably coming! But first, the hype

Mutant lice are probably coming! But first, the hype

An itchy scalp, irritability, poor sleep -- even those of us like myself who were never a part of the 6-12 million United States children infected with lice every year are familiar with these symptoms. The following weeks are filled with permethrin and pyrethrin solutions, the active pesticide ingredients in almost all over the counter lice treatments across the country. However, since 1990, a growing population of lice has shown mutated genes resulting in a resistance to these compounds in the United States, Europe, and Australia. In fact, among samples of lice from 84 individuals across the country in 2014, 99.6% of the lice had gene mutations allowing them to survive permethrin and pyrethrin. A 2015 study further validated these findings: 95% of 109 lice populations, each created from the lice of several individuals across 30 states, were found to have these permethrin and pyrethrin resistant mutated genes. Further analysis of the study reveals that 25 of the 30 states had lice with these genes. Professor Kyong Sup Yoon of Southern Illinois University elaborated on the 2014 study, stating, “[the population is] almost saturated with [these genes], which means that people using permethrin and pyrethrin based products will probably have a very hard time controlling the lice.” Unfortunately, prescription products that serve as an alternative to these permethrin and pyrethrin products come with an additional cost of $100-$200, plus doctor visit fees. Consequently, others have looked elsewhere for answers. Many have found the “nit-picking” industry serves as an attractive alternative. For $150-250 an hour, dependent on hair volume, an individual can bathe your hair in oil and then hand pick the lice from it.

This article is extremely relevant because it applies some of the logic we used in the Hardy-Weinberg lab. For one round of the experiment, we eliminated all individuals with a homozygous recessive genotype, causing the population to mutate in favor of dominant genes. Insecticide has put a similar selective pressure on the population of lice: since permethrin and pyrethrin are used to treat nearly every single case of lice, lice resistant to these insecticides will be better able to live and pass their traits on, in turn further favoring insecticide resistant traits. This article is also relevant because we attend a K-12 school where there are dozens of lice cases annually. 

I thought that this article was very well written. As expected from a reputable source like CNN, spelling and grammar contained no visible errors while all data from studies was properly cited. Furthermore, I felt that the author did an excellent job addressing how individuals seek further treatment in the case of insecticide resistant lice. Lastly, I thought the author was thorough in explaining the economic impact of insecticide resistant lice. The only area in which I felt the article was lacking was in that of worldwide significance. I feel that comparing the data found in the US to that found abroad would add another layer of significance to the case of insecticide resistant lice.

Work Cited:

Storrs, Carrina. "Mutant Lice Are Probably Coming! But First, the Hype."CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/18/health/mutant-lice/index.html>.