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Scabies in Long-Term Care Facilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

David W. Bentley  and
John Degelau
John Degelau*
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
*
Ramsey Clinic, Dept. of Internal Medicine, 640 Jackson St., St. Paul, MN 55101
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Extract

The common parasitic infestation of scabies is an international microscopic terrorist, frequently occurring in long-term care facilities. Disruptive outbreaks have been reported in long-term care facilities throughout North America, Europe, and Israel. Once scabies is reported, the normal operations of a facility may be disrupted for several months at a time. Psychogenic scabies, threatened mass resignations of staff, and extensive local media coverage have been unwelcome sequelae of long-term care facility outbreaks.

When confronted with an infestation, nursing staff and management are frequently left on their own to come up with a plan to eradicate the infestation. This may result in either inadequate treatment of infected individuals or excessive measures for the long-term care facility, such as closing admissions, banning visitors, and periodic mass “prophylaxis” treatment. Effective and efficient management of scabies outbreaks requires knowledge of the unique features of long-term care scabies and a systematic, yet practical, approach to treatment.

Type
Topics in Long-Term Care
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 13 , Issue 7 , July 1992 , pp. 421 - 425
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1992

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