[Insecticide resistance in lice collected from homeless people in Moscow]

Permethrin and malathion resistance in body and head lice collected from homeless people in Moscow was investigated in March 2009 to March 2010. Most micropopulations were found to have permethrin-resistant individuals. Their proportion varied from 8.7 to 100%. Cross resistance of body lice to 5 insecticides (the pyrethroids permethrin, d-phenothrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and the organic chlorine compound DDT) was revealed in one case. The lice remained susceptible to organic phosphorus insecticides (fenthion, malathion). The data on permethrin resistance in the lice, obtained by the standard method (immersion of the insects into an insecticide solution), correlated with those yielded by the modified WHO method.