High levels of louse infestations have also been reported from all over the world, including Israel, Denmark, Sweden, U.K., France, and Australia.The United Kingdoms National Health Service report that lice have no preference for any type of hair be it clean, dirty, or short. The number of children per family, the sharing of beds and closets, hair washing habits, local customs and social contacts, healthcare in a particular area (e.g. school), and socioeconomic status were found to be factors in head louse infestation in Iran. Other studies found no relationship between frequency of brushing or shampooing. The California Department of Public Health indicates that chronic head lice infestation may be a sign of socioeconomic or family problems. Children between 4 and 13 years of age are the most frequently infested group. In the U.S., African-American children have lower rates of infestation.Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) infestation is most frequent on children aged 3–10 and their families. Females get head lice twice as often as males, and infestation in persons of Afro-Caribbean or other black descent could be rare due to difference in hair shape or width. But these children may have nits that hatch and the live lice could be transferred by head contact to other children. Signs and symptoms
Head lice are generally uncomfortable, but typically do not constitute a serious condition. The most common symptom is itching of the head, which normally worsens 3 to 4 weeks after the initial infestation.
Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS), also known as opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia (OMA), is a rare neurological disorder of unknown cause which appears to be the result of an autoimmune process involving the nervous system. It is an extremely rare condition, affecting as few as 1 in 10,000,000 people per year. It affects 2 to 3% of children with neuroblastoma and has been reported to occur with celiac disease and diseases of neurologic and autonomic dysfunction. Signs and symptoms
Symptoms include:
opsoclonus (rapid, involuntary, multivectorial (horizontal and vertical), unpredictable, conjugate fast eye movements without intersaccadic [quick rotation of the eyes] intervals)
myoclonus (brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles)
cerebellar ataxia, both truncal and appendicular
aphasia (a language disorder in which there is an impairment of speech and of comprehension of speech, caused by brain damage)
mutism (a language disorder in which a person does not speak despite evidence of speech ability in the past, often part of a larger neurological or psychiatric disorder)
lethargy
irritability or malaise
drooling
strabismus (a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other)
vomiting
sleep disturbances
emotional disturbances (including fits of rage)About half of all OMS cases occur in association with neuroblastoma (a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system usually occurring in infants and children). Disease course and clinical subtypes
In most cases, OMS starts with an acute flare-up of physical symptoms within days or weeks, but some less obvious symptoms such as irritability and malaise may begin weeks or months earlier.