Updated at 4:24 p.m. to include information from Mass DCF.

03/03/12 Springfield- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray - A Springfield Police cruiser sits out front of 132 Washburn Street Saturday afternoon, it was the scene of a stabbing which took the life of Jessica Rojas 25.

SPRINGFIELD — Police are investigating the death of a 1-year-old infant on Cass Street who suffocated over the weekend as her family administered a home remedy for head lice.

Springfield Police spokesman John Delaney said no charges have been filed, but the matter is being investigating by Springfield police detectives. The name of the child was not disclosed to the press.

The office of Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni declined comment except to say the case is under investigation.

Cayenne Isaksen, director of public information with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the state agency has been contacted and is conducting an investigation. The agency is cooperating with Springfield police on the case but is conducting its own investigation, she said.

Investigations typically are completed within 15 business days from the time the agency is notified, she said.

She could not comment on the number of children in the home. Any children have been removed from the home and are in the care of a relative, she said. The DCF did not take custody, she said.

Police were called to a home on Cass Street on Saturday afternoon for a report of a child not breathing, Delaney said. The first officers on the scene found the child, a girl, had apparently suffocated while undergoing a treatment for head lice, he said.

Specifically, the child's relatives covered her scalp with mayonnaise and then put a plastic shopping bag over her head, he said.

The child was apparently then left unattended for some time, and the bag somehow slid down over the child's face and suffocated her, he said.

Officers familiar with the case said the child had been left unattended for several hours with the bag on her head before anyone went to check. Another child in the house, a boy, also had lice, but the family decided to shave his head.

Cass Street runs between Franklin and Liberty streets in the city's Liberty Heights neighborhood.

Mayonnaise is not considered a proper medical treatment for head lice, although as a home remedy is apparently somewhat common. The oil in the mayonnaise is said to help suffocate the adult lice, but does nothing to kill any eggs still on the scalp.

A group called The Head Lice Center on its website recommends a combination of mayonnaise and covering the scalp in plastic for up to eight hours as an effective treatment. The website recommends using a shower cap when treating children because it is safer than a plastic wrap or bag.

The center notes, "There are no scientific studies that prove the effectiveness of mayonnaise as a treatment for head lice, but there are many parents who have been using it for years and are very satisfied with the effectiveness of this home remedy against adult head lice."

The mayonnaise and shower cap treatment is also mentioned on the Minnesota Department of Health's website as an alternative treatment for head lice. The state agency goes out of its way, however, to state it is not recommending it as a treatment.

"The Minnesota Department of Health cannot recommend these treatments without further evidence of their effectiveness. However, we feel it is important to mention some of the more commonly used methods," it states.

The Massachusetts Department of Heath does not consider mayonnaise an effective treatment, saying there is insufficient data on whether suffocation of lice, using mayonnaise or other products such as olive oil or butter, is an effective method for killing lice.