In the United States, many children are returning to school after a nearly three-month summer break from classes. With the start of school, health officials are warning children and their parents about a new kind of head lice.
在暑假放假三个月之后，美国很多孩子都开始返回学校。随着开学，卫生官员就一种新型头虱向儿童及其父母发出警告。
Being infected with head lice can cause a child to miss classes. The insects are difficult to kill. They can also cause discomfort in the child, who may try to remove them from the skin.
被这种头虱感染会导致儿童缺课。头虱很难被杀死。它们还会引起儿童不适，他们会试图从皮肤上除去头虱。
A new study suggests that lice populations in at least half of the 50 states have become resistant to the chemical pyrethroid. The substance has been used for years in products to kill the insects.
一项新的研究表明，美国至少25个州的虱群已经对拟除虫菊酯产生了抗药性。拟除虫菊酯多年来一直被用于灭虱产品之中。
Seventeen-year old Ben Kupferman of California just returned home from a summer camp. He brought some unwanted visitors with him.
加利福尼亚州17岁的本·库普佛曼（Ben Kupferman）刚从夏令营回到家里。他带回了一些不受欢迎的客人。
"I was just scratching my head and one of the, the lice just came out. It was a, just on my finger, crawling around."
他说：“就在我挠头的时候一只虱子跑了出来，它在我的手指上爬来爬去。”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says lice spread to anywhere between six to 12-million children in the United States every year. All these boys and girls are between three and 11-years old.
美国疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）表示，美国各地每年有600万到1200万儿童受到虱子侵扰。这些儿童年龄在3到11岁之间。
In the past, parents bought a chemical product at a store and put it on their child's head. It usually killed the lice within a few days. But experts say the product is not as effective as it once was because the insects have developed tolerance and even resistance to it.
过去，家长们在商店购买一种化学产品然后涂抹到孩子的头上，通常几天内就能除掉虱子。但是专家表示，这种产品不再像过去一样有效，因为虱子已经产生了耐药性甚至可以抵抗它。
Angela Baker is a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
安吉拉·贝克（Angela Baker）是威斯康星州儿童医院的一名医生。
"Certain ones (lice) have the potential to mutate and protect themselves against whatever we're using to try to kill them."
他说，“某些虱子有变异的可能，它们能抵抗我们用来杀死它们的任何产品。”
David Gaines is a public health entomologist in the state of Virginia. He says lice have been developing resistance to chemical treatments for some time.
大卫·盖恩斯（David Gaines）是维吉尼亚州的一名公共卫生昆虫学专家。他说，虱子产生耐药性已经有一段时间了。
"This has probably been coming for many, many years. There's reports of insecticide-resistant lice going back decades."
他说，“这可能已经很多年了。几十年前就有出现抗杀虫剂的虱子的报告。”
When traditional treatments don't work, doctors prescribe stronger drugs. But some parents object to using strong chemicals on their children. They instead want to use a more natural treatment.
当传统治疗方法不管用时，医生就会开更强力的药物。但是一些家长不赞成在孩子身上使用强力化学品。相反他们想要使用更为自然的处理办法。
Beverly Mann joined with other parents to create a lice-treatment business. Their company uses products that do not have strong chemicals in them.
贝弗利·曼（Beverly Mann）和其他家长一起开办了一项除虱业务。他们公司使用不含强力化学物质的产品。
"Well, we use an all-natural treatment oil and we do give (a) guarantee with our services. So it, it is pesticide-free. We do the combing, we do the picking, so the parent at home doesn't have to."
她说：“我们使用一种全天然的护理油，我们保证我们的服务有效。它不含杀虫剂。我们给孩子梳头，我们来抓虫子，省去了家长的事。”
Gerry Wolburg launched a lice-removal business three years ago when he found lice on his daughter's head. He uses heat to kill lice eggs.
三年前，当格里·沃尔伯格（Gerry Wolburg）在他女儿头上发现虱子时，他推出了除虱业务。他采用高温杀死虱卵。
"It desiccates the, the lice with hot air, and if you leave eggs in the hair they're desiccated -- that means they're, they're shriveled up. They're dried (up) and we like to point out that it's like leaving a boiled egg in a hen-house -- it's not gonna, it's not gonna hatch."
他说： “我们用热空气使虱子脱水，如果头发上有虱子卵，它们也会脱水。这意味着它们会干枯。我们想要指出，这就像在鸡舍留一个煮熟的鸡蛋。它不会孵化。”
Lice do not carry diseases. But they are troubling, difficult to kill and can make the child feel bad. And they can keep children from attending school for a few days.
虱子不携带疾病。但是它们让人讨厌，难以消灭并且让孩子们感觉不舒服。而且它们会让孩子们好几天上不了学。
I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.
我是克里斯托弗·琼斯 - 克鲁斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)