Fernando, Deepani D

Mounsey, Kate E

Bernigaud, Charlotte

Surve, Nuzhat

Estrada Chávez, Guadalupe E

Hay, Roderick J

Currie, Bart

Chosidow, Olivier

Fischer, Katja

2024-10-03

Scabies is one of the most common and highest-burden skin diseases globally. Estimates suggest that >200 million people worldwide have scabies at any one time, with an annual prevalence of 455 million people, with children in impoverished and overcrowded settings being the most affected. Scabies infection is highly contagious and leads to considerable morbidity. Secondary bacterial infections are common and can cause severe health complications, including sepsis or necrotizing soft-tissue infection, renal damage and rheumatic heart disease. There is no vaccine or preventive treatment against scabies and, for the past 30 years, only few broad-spectrum antiparasitic drugs (mainly topical permethrin and oral ivermectin) have been widely available. Treatment failure is common because drugs have short half-lives and do not kill all developmental stages of the scabies parasite. At least two consecutive treatments are needed, which is difficult to achieve in resource-poor and itinerant populations. Another key issue is the lack of a practical, rapid, cheap and accurate diagnostic tool for the timely detection of scabies, which could prevent the cycle of exacerbation and disease persistence in communities. Scabies control will require a multifaceted approach, aided by improved diagnostics and surveillance, new treatments, and increased public awareness.

Scabies Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.

Research Group Dynamic, EA7380, Faculté de Santé de Créteil, USC ANSES, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil, France.

Department of Microbiology, Seth G S Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India.

State Institute of Cancer "Dr. Arturo Beltrán Ortega", Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Community Dermatology Mexico, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico.

St Johns Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, London, UK.

Global and Tropical Health, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University and Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Hôpital Universitaire La Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Paris, France.

Scabies Laboratory, Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Katja.Fischer@qimrberghofer.edu.au.

Nat Rev Dis Primers . 2024 Oct 3;10(1):74. doi: 10.1038/s41572-024-00552-8.

2056-676X

0000-0002-3079-0985

0000-0003-0579-9424

0009-0007-6515-4624

0000-0002-8878-8837

0000-0002-8400-4310

0000-0003-3408-3337

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39362885/?otool=iaurydwlib

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/13709

Scabies

Humans

Ivermectin

Antiparasitic Agents

Permethrin

Prevalence

Scabies.

Journal Article

Publication