Key West Public Schools Find HairClean 1-2-3 Powerful Solution To Head Lice Epidemic.

KEY WEST, Florida:
Reports of children missing up to 60 days of school due to head lice infestation had Sandra Higgs, the head of Resource Development at the Monroe County Health Department, extremely frustrated. "It is apparent to many of us in the public health sector that most anti-lice shampoos are not as effective as they once were", Higgs stated "This has created a huge problem because we, like many school districts, require children to be lice and nit-free (nits are their eggs) before returning to school. Ineffective treatments keep kids home for long periods of time. Our parents have become increasingly frustrated with the rate of failure when using currently available treatments. The purpose of issuing this release is to make others aware of our success."

According to Higgs, The Key West school system requested assistance from of the University of Miami School of Medicine, Field Epidemiology Survey Team which has an international reputation for researching head lice treatments. Coincidentally, the University's Terri Meinking, Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Dermatology, had been testing a new chemical-free product called HairClean 1-2-3 from Quantum, Inc.; a Eugene, Oregon based company. The product is currently marketed as a cosmetic shampoo for head and hair hygeine, not a pediculicide.

Developed by an Israeli physician and made from completely natural ingredients, HairClean 1-2-3 had also been studied by the world's foremost head lice researcher, Kosta Mumcuoglu, Ph.D. Mumcuoglu's in-vitro work in 1991, 1995 and 1996 produced extremely positive results; the studies showed the product to be 100% effective at killing head lice and 93.5% effective at killing nits (eggs). HairClean also helps loosen nits and makes it easier to remove from hair. Professor Meinking suggested that Key West allow her to develop a Pilot Program using HairClean 1-2-3 as a means of controlling the epidemic. "The schools in jeopardy seemed the perfect testing ground for additional evaluation", Meinking said.

After several conversations with the local school health authorities, it was decided that the best approach to keep children from missing class was to perform the treatment in the school. The school's 520 students were screened by a professional grooming service. Only those students identified with live lice or viable nits (lice eggs) were eligible to be included in the program. Thirty-seven students were eligible for the program. Participants were treated with HairClean 1-2-3 for 15 minutes, rinsed off, and shampooed with a baby shampoo. At the one-week follow-up, 8 had nymphs (from newly hatched eggs). One week later at the final evaluation, all students who followed the program were completely lice-free. * "In my 15 years sudying head lice, I've never seen a product work so well." said Professor Meinking.

"We all saw very clearly that HairClean 1-2-3 worked fantastically. Needless to say this is wonderful news," remarked Higgs.

View products now - HairClean 1-2-3 Lice Remover and MagiComb.

Professor Terri Meinking
Terri Meinking is a leading international expert on head lice. Currently a research assistant professor at the University of Miami Department of dermatology, Ms Meinking has run numerous clinical trials and field studies of head lice and scabies. Ms. Meinking conducted the original in vitro and clinical trials on Nix for FDA approval 12 years ago. Her writing and research partnership with Professor David Taplin has led to a prestigious publication list that includes over 40 articles, monographs and books. She has been on the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Pediculosis Association since it's inception in 1983.
* Treatment Program Summary available upon request

Doctor Kosta Mumcuoglu
Dr Kosta Mumcuoglu is the world's leading expert on head lice and pediculicide resistance. He is a medical entomologist who received his Ph.D. from the Department of Zoology and Dept of Dermatology Medical School, University of Basel, Switzerland, and is currently a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Parasitology at the Hadassah Medical School Jerusalem. He has been the Prinicpal Investigator in head lice and tick studies with grants from organizations such as the NIH-CDR and WHO. He is a member of the committee on head lice and scabies of the Ministry of Health in Israel and has over 130 publications to his credit.