Increased Scabies Incidence at the Beginning of the 21st Century: What Do Reports from Europe and the World Show?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Clinical Features and Management of Scabies
3. General Epidemiological Aspects of Scabies
4. Trends in Scabies Incidence/Prevalence Recorded during the Last Two Decades
5. Measures for Improvement of Negative Trends
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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COUNTRY | AUTHORS | ANALYSED DATA/SOURCE | RESULTS |
---|---|---|---|
ARGENTINA | Dei-Cas et al. [8] | A prospective study that included all children aged 15 years or younger who attended the Pediatric Emergency Department of Presidente Peron Hospital (Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina) between 1 January and 31 December 2016 | Scabies was the most frequent parasitic skin infection and fourth most common infectious skin disorder. |
CENTRAL AFRICA | Kobangué et al. [11] | Scabies frequency in Bangui assessed using records and clinical confirmation at the dermatology department of Bangui (January 2006–December 2010) (a cross-sectional study) | Average hospital scabies prevalence was 5.88%, highest for those 0–9 years of age (33%). By school age group: preschool age and pupils/students, respectively, 25.5% and 26.3%). |
ETHIOPIA | Azene et al. [12] | Systematic review and meta-analysis of overall scabies prevalence and associated factors in Ethiopia; due to high heterogeneity across the studies, the random effects meta-analysis model was used to fix the overall prevalence and associated factors of scabies | Overall scabies prevalence was 14.5% and was significantly associated with (large) family size and bed sharing. The highest prevalence, 19.6%, was seen in the Amhara region. |
FIJI | Romani et al. [13] | This mass anti-scabies treatment trial began by looking at the occurrence and predictors of scabies in 2051 participants at baseline from six island communities | High scabies burden and prevalence in Fiji (36.4%), highest in children 5–9 years (55.7%). Important scabies-related factors/findings were overcrowding, young age, and typical clinical distribution. |
GHANA | Boateng et al. [14] | Diagnosed skin infections in urban (Greater Accra) and rural (Oti region) areas, reported by study health centres in Ghana (from a 6-month period in 2019) | Among skin infections, 11.6% were scabies cases, the third most common diagnosis behind bacterial dermatitis (26.5%) and tinea (19.5%). Males predominated scabies cases (64.4%). |
GLOBAL | Karimkhani et al. [10] | Sources of scabies epidemiological data came from an extensive literature search and hospital insurance records. Data was analysed with a Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool. Estimated DALYs for 195 countries were divided into 21 world regions, 20 age groups, and by both sexes between 1990 and 2015 | Scabies was responsible for 0.21% of DALYs from all conditions studied by GBD 2015 worldwide. |
MALAWI | Galván-Casas et al. [15] | Scabies frequency in rural Malawi; data from a community-based outreach programme (integrated dermatology clinics and tele-dermatology care, including patient visits, screenings, and treatments) | Total/overall scabies cases increased from 2.9% to 39.2% during 2015–2018; the high prevalence confirmed scabies is a major public health issue in parts of Malawi. |
SAUDI ARABIA | Ahmed et al. [16] | Scabies rate in Saudi Arabia and associated factors (a multi-centre retrospective study on adults diagnosed with ≥1 episode of scabies during January 2016–September 2018); 468 adult patients participated | High scabies recurrence rate among adults, with these risk factors: male gender, first tertile (January to April), and living in areas of high humidity. Of patients, 46.8% had recurrences. |
SOUTH KOREA | Kim et al. [17] | The national annual and seasonal trend of scabies prevalence based on the National Health Insurance Service database | Annual prevalence (per 1000 persons): those <40 years (0.56–0.69); peak at 3.0–4.1 for persons >80 years; women consistently predominated. High prevalence (>6000 cases) in autumn (when temperatures >25 °C at 2 months prior. |
SOLOMON ISLANDS | Lake et al. [18] | Prevalence of scabies was analysed in 20 villages in the Western Province (5239 participants); diagnosis was based on the 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies diagnostic criteria | Overall prevalence was 15.0%; considerable variation by village (3.3–42.6%); highest prevalence in children aged <2 years (27%), and significantly higher prevalence in males (16.7%) than females (13.5%). |
TAIWAN | Liu et al. [19] | A nationwide population-based study using data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database for the period from January 2000 to December 2013 for a randomly selected sample of one million people from the 23 million people in the database in 2000 | The total number of patients infested with scabies was 14,883; the mean age was 52.4 ± 21.0 years. A diagnosis was made according to the patient’s history and a physical examination by a licensed physician. |
COUNTRY | AUTHORS | ANALYSED DATA/SOURCE | RESULTS |
---|---|---|---|
CROATIA | Lugović-Mihić et al. [6] | Retrospective medical records and national data from communicable disease reports during 2007–2017 | Six-fold increase in scabies diagnoses in Croatia during 2007–2017, especially in children and young adults; the highest incidence was during 2014–2017 in border counties, probably due to migration flows. The capital, Zagreb, saw a three-fold increase during 2014–2017. |
FRANCE | Launay et al. [20] | Data from a healthcare sciences company during lockdown (March–December 2020), including dispensing data of prescription and over-the-counter anti-scabies drugs (from 60% of all French retail pharmacies) | The mean reduction in observed vs. expected sales for topical and oral anti-scabies treatments was 14% and 4%, respectively. |
Schmidt-Guerre et al. [21] | Scabies cases diagnosed during January-June 2015 based on a questionnaire given to general practitioners of the Doubs department in France | GPs frequently diagnosed scabies; 89% had diagnosed ≥1 case during the previous 6 months. | |
GERMANY | Augustin et al. [7] | Multisource analyses of treatment data from a nationwide statutory health insurance company, the Federal Statistical Office, and data from skin screenings | Scabies case numbers have been rising since 2009, especially since 2014. During 2010–2015 there was a 52.8% increase in outpatients; during 2010–2016 the inpatient increase was about 306%. |
Reichert et al. [22] | Analysis of inpatient and outpatient claims data from 2009 to 2018 in Germany | Scabies diagnoses increased 9-fold during 2009-2018; the highest proportion of scabies was seen in patients 15–24 years old. | |
Sunderkötter et al. [1] | Review article on scabies frequency in Germany | Increased scabies diagnoses (no exact quantified data on age-specific and regional incidences); possible regional increases due to migration and an increase in STDs among young adults. | |
GREECE | Louka et al. [23] | Data from the Greek National Public Health Organization surveillance system for June 2016–July 2020 (retrospective study), submitted by staff at health centres for refugees/asylum seekers | Scabies infestation increased over time, followed by several outbreaks; in the refugee/asylum seeker populations, scabies ranked third among most frequent infectious diseases. |
IRELAND | Griffin et al. [24] | Data from a dermatological clinic in Galway for the period March 2020–July 2021 compared to previous 4 years | A significant increase in scabies cases during March 2020–July 2021 compared with averages for the same period of the previous 4 years. |
ITALY | De Lucia et al. [25] | Scabies admissions to a dermatological clinic in Naples during lockdown (March 2020–March 2021) | A significant increase in scabies cases, especially among patients <18 and >65 years. |
NETHERLANDS | van Deursen et al. [5] | Two national data sources on scabies analysed during 2011–2020 | Increased scabies incidence by more than 3-fold during 2011–2020, mainly affecting adolescents and (young) adults. |
NORWAY | Amato et al. [2] | Data from Norwegian Syndromic Surveillance System about mite infestations compared with anti-scabies treatment sales during 2006–2018 | Increased scabies management and incidence rates since 2013, based on increased consultations/sales of anti-scabies treatments. |
POLAND | Korycinska et al. [26] | Data reports on scabies from the Polish National Health Fund for the period 2007–2014 | Highest scabies rates for the 10–19 age group; seasonality (predominantly during the autumn and winter months). |
SPAIN | Martínez-Pallás et al. [27] | Scabies frequency data during March–May 2020 compared to the averages for the same period for the previous five years in Zaragoza | A significant increase in scabies cases during the confinement period. |
Redondo-Bravo et al. [28] | Nationwide retrospective study of four databases (hospital admissions, patients attended at primary healthcare, outbreaks, and occupational diseases) during 1997–2019 | An increasing trend in scabies admissions during 2014–2017; among hospital admissions, the elderly predominated, while children and young adults were treated at primary health centres. | |
TURKEY | Baykal et al. [29] | Retrospective database search on scabies prevalence from two Istanbul tertiary-level dermatology centres (January 2016–December 2019) | 2016 and 2017 saw a stable frequency of scabies diagnoses; 2018 and 2019 saw a scabies outbreak that peaked in the fourth quarter of 2019 (in both centres). |
UNITED KINGDOM | Hewitt et al. [30] | Data from seven care homes reporting suspected scabies outbreaks in southern England over a 6-month period (November 2012–April 2013) | Scabies attack rates varied (2−50%). Cases were diagnosed clinically by GPs or care staff (none by dermatologists). Most outbreaks were attributable to delayed diagnoses. |
VARIOUS COUNTRIES (Greece, France, The Netherlands, Serbia, Belgium, Turkey, Macedonia) | Richardson et al. [31] | A qualitative study, retrospective semi-structured telephone interviews for scabies data during November 2017–February 2018 | Clinicians confirmed scabies by clinical presentation; treatment and outbreak management varied highly. |
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Delaš Aždajić, M.; Bešlić, I.; Gašić, A.; Ferara, N.; Pedić, L.; Lugović-Mihić, L. Increased Scabies Incidence at the Beginning of the 21st Century: What Do Reports from Europe and the World Show? Life 2022, 12, 1598. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101598
Delaš Aždajić M, Bešlić I, Gašić A, Ferara N, Pedić L, Lugović-Mihić L. Increased Scabies Incidence at the Beginning of the 21st Century: What Do Reports from Europe and the World Show? Life. 2022; 12(10):1598. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101598
Chicago/Turabian StyleDelaš Aždajić, Marija, Iva Bešlić, Ana Gašić, Nikola Ferara, Lovre Pedić, and Liborija Lugović-Mihić. 2022. "Increased Scabies Incidence at the Beginning of the 21st Century: What Do Reports from Europe and the World Show?" Life 12, no. 10: 1598. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101598