Naveed Ijaz, a general practitioner specializing in dermatology, has seen an increasing number of patients coming to his Manchester clinic in recent months with intensely itchy rashes. The cause is scabies. Scabies is a highly contagious skin disease that: Sarcoptes scabies A tick infection can cause an itchy rash that spreads all over the body.
“I’m very concerned, mainly because of the lack of treatments available,” Ijaz said. “Outbreaks tend to occur more frequently during the winter months as people tend to spend more time together indoors. The lack of available treatments makes this even worse.”
Scabies is very common, but around 200 million people Around the world, the number of infections across England is surging far above normal levels. The report details outbreaks in care homes and university accommodation, particularly in the north.
Camilla Hawthorn, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told WIRED that the weekly incidence rate per 100,000 people in the north of England remained well above the national average and the five-year average.In their most recent monitoring report, from 2016 Early December and January.
The UK’s surge in infections is part of a broader long-term trend. A case of scabies is consistently rising All over Europe and around the world for 10 years. Unlike other infectious diseases, this is not thought to be the result of climate change, but a combination of factors including undertreatment, treatment failure, and deep-rooted stigma against the disease that prevents people from seeking prompt medical attention. It is believed that this is the result of a combination of factors.
Until the symptoms are treated, scabies mites can breed under the skin, burrow and lay eggs, continuing the cycle of sores and itchiness. This mite can be easily transmitted to others through skin-to-skin contact, especially during sexual intercourse. Mr Ijaz said he had seen some cases where individuals had been infected by sexual partners, but some of the data on the current extent of the outbreak in the UK came from sexual health clinics.
“Ticks can crawl out of people’s bodies and onto sofas and bedding, which is partly why outbreaks persist,” explains Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in the UK. “It is very common in schools, prisons and care homes, and outbreaks can also be seen in hospital wards and hostels. This mite is relatively common and quite hardy, but unfortunately it can cause damage to its own body. He’s very good at his job.”
The two main treatments for scabies are permethrin and malathion, which are skin lotions that must be applied to the infected person’s body to kill all sources of mites and eggs. Traditionally, these treatments have been very effective, but in recent years there have been increasing reports of treatment failure.a recent reviews Results of research on this topic published by British Society of Dermatology Journal, states that treatment failure rates can be as high as 30 percent. The review notes that drug resistance in ticks is an emerging concern, but also acknowledges that relatively little is known about this threat.