Epidemiology and control of scabies in an Egyptian village

Abstract

Our data provide the first complete picture of the epidemiology of scabies in rural Egypt. The epidemiologic characteristics of the disease should be considered in the design of disease control programs for other villages with scabies epidemics. Our findings revealed that good control was achieved with the following: increased awareness and better case finding, education of the staff at the rural health unit, improved hygiene measures, and massive treatment campaigns using effective drugs such as topical permethrin and oral ivermectin.

Comparative Study of Efficacy of Oral Ivermectin Versus Some Topical Antiscabies Drugs in the Treatment of Scabies

“…2) Topical Permethrin 5% cream single application: Earliar studies [4,[8][9][10] have reported cure rate >80% with Permethrin. Higher cure rates (98%) was reported after two applications.…”

The epidemiology of scabies in an impoverished community in rural Brazil: Presence and severity of disease are associated with poor living conditions and illiteracy

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] In resource-poor urban and rural communities the prevalence of the infestation with Sarcoptes scabiei may reach 10% in the general population and 59% in children. 1,2,4,7,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In an urban slum in Bangladesh, the incidence in children younger than 5 years was 952/1000/year, indicating that nearly all children experienced at least one infestation per year. 20 This is in contrast to the situation in industrialized countries, where the disease occurs sporadically in all age groups, particularly in sexually active adults, or causes epidemics in institutions and nursing homes.…”

“…8,[21][22][23][24][25][26] Many factors have been suggested to determine the epidemiology of scabies in impoverished communities, including social attitudes, population movements, malnutrition, lack of access to health care, inadequate treatment, deficient hygiene, and crowding, but so far these assumptions have not been substantiated. 3,6,7 As in most countries scabies is not a notifiable disease, usually only large outbreaks tend to be reported. 27 By consequence, what is known about the epidemiology of scabies is mainly based on data from hospital and outpatient records or certain high-risk groups.…”

Infectious Disease Research—What Role Is There for Hydrologists?

“…They can be controlled through adequate water supplies that permit sufficient personal hygiene [6]. Examples of these include trachoma, a bacterial infection of the eyes, and scabies [13], a parasitic skin infection.…”