Lice outbreak infests 77 at Goshen Elementary

The Gazette
by Sebastian Montes, Staff Writer
December 12, 2007

An outbreak of head lice at Goshen Elementary School has persisted for more than five weeks, infesting roughly 50 students and 27 staff members at the 608-student school just east of Gaithersburg.

The school has had to go beyond county school system protocols to combat the blood-sucking parasites, which are spread by close contact and only survive on a living host.

Lice were first discovered Nov. 5 on two second-grade students. The problem has become so widespread since that there has been rush on medicated shampoo at two Goshen-area grocery stores.

"We are doing everything that we possibly can," said Principal Linda King. "We're following all the guidelines and doing everything that the experts are telling us to do."

She is optimistic that the problem will subside during the winter break, which begins Dec. 21. The school's PTA has scheduled an informational meeting for concerned parents at 7 p.m. tonight.

Following Montgomery County Public Schools guidelines on lice outbreaks, Goshen has excluded infested children and staff from school until they've documented that they've received treatment. The school has also sent several letters home and activated its automated phone system at least three times to alert parents in English and Spanish.

A school health safety crew treated all rugs in the school on Dec. 8. All fabrics - pillows, rugs and cloth furniture, even stuffed animals - have been removed from classrooms, and students are now putting their coats and hats in individual plastic bags before hanging them up.

Though the outbreak at Goshen has required "extraordinary measures," lice are not uncommon to elementary schools, said Kate Harrison, a spokeswoman for MCPS.

Statistics compiled by the county's Department of Health and Human Services show that the number of students requiring treatment for lice last school year jumped to 1,356 from 1,073 the year before. Still, far more suspected of having lice were sent to school nurses; 10,705 such students were recorded last school year.

"It's out there, it's ubiquitous," said Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for HHS. "And this time of year, there's a little bit of an uptick because kids are starting to wear hats and coats and scarves."

As the problem has lingered at Goshen, its PTA is increasing its push to remind parents to follow through on treatment.

"It's the parents' responsibility as well as the school's to be lice-free," said PTA President Carol Kelly, whose children in fourth and fifth grade have not been infected. "But even with all the precautions you take, it's still something that's very contagious and very hard to take care of."

The outbreak at Goshen began with two second-graders. A school nurse checked every second-grade student and the school sent a letter home with their parents.

On Nov. 8, a case was found in fifth grade. That triggered a letter home and a ConnectEd call to all parents. On Nov. 19, the school found more students with lice - and for the first time, a handful of teachers.

The day before Thanksgiving break, a pair of letters were sent to all parents detailing how to look for and treat lice by using special shampoo and combing lice and nits out by hand. That information was also posted on the school Web site and parents received another ConnectEd message.

On Nov. 29, the school found more students and teachers with lice, prompting every fourth grader to be checked and a new letter and ConnectEd message.

"We were hoping Thanksgiving break would put it to rest," Kelly said. "I think that's when we realized that it wasn't just one or two kids."

And that's when the school system stepped in, sending health safety teams to clean the school Dec. 8. All rugs were cleaned, rolled up and stowed away. All second graders were checked again the following week.

"It's very time consuming and the shampoo is very expensive," King said.

Some Goshen students have had lice more than once.

"There are families that probably don't even know that they have it," said Goshen parent Kate Traynor, who did graduate work in parasitology. "There's a knee-jerk reaction when you hear 'lice,' but it's not something you get from being dirty; they come from close contact. You get pink eye, you get chicken pox; it's just one of those things. It's not a school problem per se, it comes from the home."

About lice

An estimated 10 percent of elementary school children in the country are treated for head lice each year, primarily between the ages of 3 and 10.

Lice are oftentimes spread by sharing hats, coats, combs and brushes. More than half of lice-infested children have another infested family member at home.

Treatment with a specially formulated shampoo should be followed by removal of all lice and nits with a special comb.

If live lice are still found 8-12 hours after treatment but are moving more slowly, do not retreat.

When using an over-the-counter shampoo, treatment should be repeated after 7-10 days.

After treatment, check hair and comb with a nit comb to remove nits and lice every 2-3 days. Continue to check for 2-3 weeks until all lice and nits are gone.

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