by Katie Dunn |
Update: The six students who have head lice all shared a "Halloween accessory" at an off-campus party over the weekend, according to Sarah Meiser, associate director for housing. Residence Life has given them instruction for delousing their residences. Residence Life is monitoring treatment and clean up of students.
With the recent discovery of several cases of lice among UP students, the director of the Health Center is urging students not to panic. The Athletics Department is taking a proactive approach with its athletes, hiring a company to screen them.
Margaret Trout, director of the Health Center, said she was aware of approximately six cases of head lice.
According to an email Jeff Rook, environmental safety officer of Public Safety, sent out to several University departments, the residence halls of Fields, Schoenfeldt, Kenna and Tyson have been "impacted." There have been unconfirmed reports of cases in Mehling Hall but Hall Director Gina Loschiavo said she wasn't aware of any.
The Athletic Department hired a company called Lice Knowing You to come to Chiles and screen athletes this morning. Because of the problem, Physical Plant washed clothes and cleaned the locker rooms in Chiles. Athletics would not comment further other to say that the problem extended on campus beyond Athletics.
While head lice are parasites that need human hosts to live, they are not known to transmit diseases and are more of a nuisance than a hazard. They move throughout the head and neck area and live for about 24-72 hours. Infestations spread through close person-to-person contact, mainly head contact and sharing of items like hats and combs. Lice are not able to fly, hop or jump from person-to-person.
The Health Center told Loschiavo students should follow the CDC guidelines for information and treatment tips. Trout said students who think they have lice should go to the pharmacy and ask for over-the-counter lice treatment.
Malika Andrews and Clare Duffy contributed to reporting for this story.
Katie Dunn is editor-in-chief of The Beacon and can be reached at dunn16@up.edu.
