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Article

The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies

by
Mert Hamdi Korkusuz
1,2,
Maria Eugenia Castellanos
2,
Linton R. Harriss
1,3,
Allison Hempenstall
1,3,
Simon Smith
1 and
Josh Hanson
1,4,*
1
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia
2
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
3
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia
4
Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(4), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10040111
Submission received: 24 March 2025 / Revised: 15 April 2025 / Accepted: 15 April 2025 / Published: 18 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Neglected and Emerging Tropical Diseases)
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Abstract

The recognition and treatment of scabies has been incorporated into Australian guidelines for the prevention of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The incidence of both diagnosed ARF and RHD is increasing in Far North Queensland (FNQ) in northeast tropical Australia, but the local burden of scabies is incompletely defined. We reviewed the results of every skin scraping collected in FNQ’s public health system between 2000 and 2023; 121/4345 (2.8%) scrapings were positive, including 19/1071 (1.8%) in the last 5 years of the study; the proportion of scrapings that were positive for scabies declined over the study period. Individuals who tested positive for scabies were no more likely to have had a prior diagnosis of ARF or RHD compared to the matched controls (1/101 (1%) versus 3/101 (3%), p = 1.0). During a median of 14.7 years of follow-up, individuals who tested positive for scabies were also no more likely to have a diagnosis of ARF or RHD than matched controls (2/100 (2%) versus 6/98 (6%); hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.30 (0.06–1.50) p = 0.14). Microbiologically confirmed scabies is uncommon in FNQ and appears to make a limited contribution to the local incidence of ARF and RHD.
Keywords: scabies; acute rheumatic fever; rheumatic heart disease; chronic kidney disease; social determinants of health; aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian health; tropical medicine scabies; acute rheumatic fever; rheumatic heart disease; chronic kidney disease; social determinants of health; aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian health; tropical medicine

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MDPI and ACS Style

Korkusuz, M.H.; Castellanos, M.E.; Harriss, L.R.; Hempenstall, A.; Smith, S.; Hanson, J. The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10, 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10040111

AMA Style

Korkusuz MH, Castellanos ME, Harriss LR, Hempenstall A, Smith S, Hanson J. The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2025; 10(4):111. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10040111

Chicago/Turabian Style

Korkusuz, Mert Hamdi, Maria Eugenia Castellanos, Linton R. Harriss, Allison Hempenstall, Simon Smith, and Josh Hanson. 2025. "The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies" Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 10, no. 4: 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10040111

APA Style

Korkusuz, M. H., Castellanos, M. E., Harriss, L. R., Hempenstall, A., Smith, S., & Hanson, J. (2025). The Incidence of Scabies in Far North Queensland, Tropical Australia: Implications for Local Clinical Practice and Public Health Strategies. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 10(4), 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10040111

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