ABSTRACT
For testing the susceptibility of the head louse to insecticides impregnated bunches of polyamide fibres, whose diameter resembled that of human hair (0.1 mm) were used. In this manner a low mortality of control lice collected from infected persons was obtained (2.9% after 16 hours of exposure). Even after 25 years of DDT use no apparent resistance could be demonstrated in 25 tested louse populations and cross resistance to permethrin in 7 tested populations. The diagnostic concentration for resistance to pp'-DDT was established at 1%. Of the tested insecticides the highest toxicity was shown by malathion (LC50 = 0.000 018%), pirimiphos-methyl had on average a twice lower toxicity, trichlorphon 104 times lower, tetramethrin 1220 times lower, permethrin 2.5 times lower and pp'-DDT 630 times lower toxicity.
