90
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION TO ASSESS THE
   PREVALENCE OF HEAD LICE AND THE CURRENT USE OF CHEMICAL
   TREATMENT FOR HEAD LICE IN HAWAII'S SCHOOLS.



 1       WHEREAS, chronic head lice, or "uku" infestation, in pre-
 2   school and elementary school-aged children has become an
 3   ongoing public health concern, which currently affects an
 4   estimated ten to twenty million Americans annually; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, a head louse is a tiny insect, the size of a
 7   sesame seed, that lays and cements its eggs, or nits, to the
 8   shaft of human hair; and
 9   
10       WHEREAS, head lice do not carry disease but can cause
11   severe itching, scratching, and sometimes infections, and
12   requires a time consuming, systematic cleansing and treatment
13   of not only the infected person, but all other members of that
14   person's family, as well as bedding, clothing, and personal
15   belongings; and
16   
17       WHEREAS, over the past few decades, the head lice problem
18   has been controlled with shampoos or soaps, many of them
19   chemically-based containing pyrethroids; and
20   
21       WHEREAS, despite the use of pyrethroids, the frequency of
22   head lice infestations have recently increased, and even
23   greater numbers of children nationwide have become reinfested
24   within days of treatment; and
25   
26       WHEREAS, repeated treatment and frequent use of these
27   chemical products may have serious health consequences,
28   affecting a young child's developing central nervous system and
29   their future well-being; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, reports from Harvard University, as well as from
32   Israel and the Czech Republic, have documented a resistant
33   strain of head lice that is impervious to pyrethroids; and
34   
35       WHEREAS, this resistant strain of head lice can be the
36   cause of added financial burden and stress within the family
37   unit, creating frustration and helplessness among parents who
38   have experimented with dangerous home remedies that have caused
39   death or serious injury to their infected children; and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, Hawaii is able to generate many locally developed,
 2   all-natural, nontoxic alternative treatments and several high
 3   quality, herbal, medicinal remedies that are highly effective,
 4   personal health care products; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, an adequate public education program, coupled with
 7   a proactive eradication campaign, is needed in both the
 8   Departments of Health (DOH) and Education (DOE); now,
 9   therefore,
10   
11       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
12   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
13   of 2000, that the DOH and DOE are requested to assess the
14   prevalence of head lice and the current use of chemical
15   treatment for head lice in Hawaii's schools; and
16   
17       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DOH and DOE are requested
18   to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide "Uku
19   Eradication Program"; and
20   
21       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DOH and DOE submit a report
22   of their actions pursuant to this request to the Legislature no
23   later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
24   Session of 2001; and
25   
26       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
27   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the
28   Superintendent of Education, and the Chairperson of the Board
29   of Education.
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33                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________