War to the last itch.

A study of the causes of a lice epidemic, focusing on the head louse, which from preference feeds on the blood of children - with 200,000 cases reported annually in schools in England and Wales, the combined annual figure for the UK being approximately 1 million. Close-up diagrams and photographs show lice feeding, and their breeding cycle. Reminding viewers that louse-borne epidemic typhus - which the head louse can carry - has killed millions in past centuries, a number of now obsolete remedies are cited. The process for insecticide testing, whereby a volunteer must allow lice to feed on his arm in controlled conditions while in transit, is shown - followed by the administering of lotion by a school nurse. It is stressed "if the problem is ignored, or tackled ineffectively, then lice will overcome even the latest compound", meaning that either we can "go back to shaving heads" or we can "exterminate them now". The film has very useful footage of head lice and a school 'nit' nurse inspecting small children and combing through.