Beware of head to head selfies: Mutant head lice on the increase!

                  Picture for illustration                           (C)GettyImage

Recent research has shown an increase in head lice infestations, especially amongst social media savvy teens taking ‘selfies’ or ‘groupies’ with their head touching others. Its been reported that head lice have developed a high level of resistance to some of the most common popular treatments. Specialists are now warning snappers to beware unwelcome guests who wont be captured on camera, the Mirror reports.

Recent research shows head lice have developed a high resistance to common treatments

Dr. Sharon Rink of Appleton told WBAY, 'Teenagers don't usually get lice because they're not sharing hats and things like that, and lice can't jump, so the only way they can transmit lice is touching their heads together, and that's happening with all these photos.'
“People are doing selfies like every day, as opposed to going to photo booths years and years ago, so you’re probably having much more contact with other people’s heads.”  She has since dubbed the phenomenon the ‘social media lice’.
Heah-to-head contact with a person who already has head lice is the most common way of contacting the pests, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.
According to DailyMail, head lice mutations are giving the pests protection against permethrin, the active ingredient in many over-the-counter remedies. Scientists in the US found lice have developed resistance in at least 25 American states.
Doctor Kyong Yoon, of Southern Illinois University, said: 'What we found was that 104 out of the 109 lice populations we tested had high levels of gene mutations, which have been linked to resistance to pyrethroids.'
In summary, think twice when next you are posing for a picture with friends!