Countries all over Europe, as well as Canada, Australia, Turkey, Israel, and Mexico have reported incidences of super lice. In addition to the U.S., super lice are present in nations across the world. A more recent study at Southern Illinois University found super lice in 48 states.
One such study tested populations in 30 states, concluding that in all but one of the states observed, lice were completely or at least partially immune to OTC permethrin treatments.
Since 2000, scientists have studied the prevalence of chemical resistant lice in the US. In What States and Countries Is Super Lice a Common Problem? Parents will often treat it over and over, just to see another bug, and they feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Because most OTC lice shampoos with pesticides kill only 2% of super lice bugs, and no super lice eggs, super lice treatment is more challenging than regular lice treatment. The most common treatment that parents reach for is still over-the-counter lice shampoo. Super lice are just a mutated strain of regular lice, so they behave and look the same, except when it comes to their reaction to pesticides. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to look at a case of lice and tell whether it’s super lice or regular lice. When parents use a lice shampoo and the lice come back, they start to wonder, could it be super lice? Parents call us to ask, “what does super lice look like?” They’re looking for bugs that are bigger, darker, stronger, faster, or itchier.