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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE DEPARTMENT OF
    EDUCATION TO ASSESS THE PREVALENCE AND CURRENT TREATMENT
    OF HEAD LICE IN HAWAII'S SCHOOLS.



 1        WHEREAS, chronic head lice or "uku" infestation in school
 2   aged children has been an ongoing public health concern in
 3   Hawaii and infests an estimated ten million Americans annually;
 4   and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, a head lice is a tiny insect, the size of a
 7   sesame seed that lays and cements its eggs or nits to the shaft
 8   of human hair; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, head lice do not carry disease but can cause
11   severe itching, scratching, and sometimes infections therefrom
12   and requires a time consuming, systematic cleansing and
13   treatment of not only the infected person, but all other
14   members of that person's family, including bedding, clothing,
15   and personal belongings; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, in the past few decades, the head lice problem
18   has been controlled with shampoos or soaps, many of them
19   containing pyrethroids; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, despite the use of pyrethroids, the frequency of
22   head lice infestations has recently increased and ever greater
23   numbers of children nationwide, have become reinfested within
24   days of treatment; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, reports from Harvard University, as well as
27   Israel and the Czech Republic support the theory of a stronger
28   strain of head lice that is impervious to pyrethroids; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, this stronger strain of head lice may be the
31   cause of the frustration and helplessness experienced by
32   parents that have experimented with dangerous home remedies
33   that caused the death or serious injury of their infested
34   children; and
35   
36        WHEREAS, "Happy Hair", a local, nontoxic hair product
37   developed by aromatherapist, "Aunty Maria" appears to have had
38   some success with controlling head lice with eighty-one per

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        


 1   cent of those tested showing the effective eradication of head
 2   lice; now, therefore,
 3   
 4        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 5   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 6   of 2000, that the Department of Health and the Department of
 7   Education are requested to assess the prevalence and current
 8   treatment of head lice in Hawaii's schools; and
 9   
10        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the departments are requested
11   to report their findings and recommendations to the Legislature
12   twenty days before the convening of the 2001 regular session;
13   and
14   
15        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
16   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the
17   Superintendent of Education, and the Chairperson of the Board
18   of Education.
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22                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________