Aboriginal villages in Nantou County are suffering from outbreaks of head lice and infectious diseases associated with the pests, a situation that local authorities attribute to the generally poor living conditions of 921 earthquake quake victims.
Some 132 cases have been reported since mid-September and 500 people are being treated in order to prevent the spread of the infestation.
Poor living conditions in temporary shelters for victims of the 921 earthquake may threaten public health in affected areas, officials said.
The Nantou County government's Bureau of Health found 87 out of 224 students in a local primary school infected with head lice earlier this month. Another 45 cases were reported to the bureau in September.
To treat the problem of head lice, the bureau had to place under treatment entire households of those afflicted in order fully to control the lymphadenitis.
The bureau estimated that more than 500 local residents under treatment should be tracked to ensure the eradication of lice attributable diseases in these villages.
The head louse, a parasite living on the blood of human beings and animals inhabiting dirty conditions, is primarily transmitted by direct contact with those already infected. The parasites can also spread by indirect contact with patients, such as the sharing of towels, clothes and chair cushions.
Because head lice bring about severe skin irritation and itchiness, those afflicted often scratch their skin for relief, introducing the possibility of bacterial infection and lymphadenitis, according to the Department of Health (衛生署).
The best way to prevent head lice, according to the health department, is to wash hair regularly and thoroughly, and to wash clothes, towels and bedsheets often. Lice, kept away from human or animal blood, can survive no longer than three days, the health department said.
Lin Chu-chien (林朱健), director of the disease control section (防疫課) at Nantou County government's health bureau, said it was possible the spread of head lice in earthquake-affected areas may have been exacerbated by the lack of clean water for residents for both personal and household hygiene.
"It is especially a problem when mudflows in these areas cut the spring water these residents rely on in their daily lives," he said.
Aboriginal villages and some agricultural towns in central Taiwan had suffered shortages of tap water even before the earthquake, because service providers did not consider it economically worthwhile to supply water to sparsely populated areas, according to community workers involved in quake reconstruction.
Chen Kow-tung (陳國東), director of the surveillance division (疫情組) at the health department's center for disease control (疾病管制局), said that head lice spread faster in overcrowded places, such as the temporary accommodation housing many quake victims currently occupy.
"The humidity that is generated in some poorly designed temporary housing units without proper drainage systems also makes the environment perfect for fleas and lice that may cause skin disease," Chen said. "It is often so humid that I have seen parasites thriving in the straw mats on which some victims sleep," he said.
Lin said that on the basis of his observations of the situation in Nantou County, the local health bureau is anxious about the possible spread of many infectious diseases.
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