Body lice were recently discovered in the University of Maryland’s McKeldin Library and Kirwan Hall, and school staff treated the affected areas.
As opposed to head lice that live on people’s heads and in their eyebrows and eyelashes, body lice live in clothing, bedding and linens and spread to anyone who uses them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The university’s pest control management team found evidence of the blood-sucking insects on the fourth floor of the McKeldin Library and in a restroom at Kirwan Hall, an academic building. The two areas were treated, the school’s health center said in a release Friday, and staffers are probing other areas to ensure they’re not infected with body lice.
The health center didn’t say how the lice got into the two areas.
To prevent the spread of body lice, the health center recommended washing clothes, bedding and towels in hot water, then drying them on the hottest setting, vacuuming carpets and furniture, and sealing items that can’t be washed in a plastic bag for two weeks.
“I washed all my bedding, I washed all my clothes, I put my stuffed animals and my duvet through the dryer. I kind of felt like I was going crazy,” UMD freshman Samantha Ross told WTOP-FM.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.