preview

Disease Report on Scabies Essay

Good Essays

Disease Report on Scabies Scabies is a very unpleasant skin disease to acquire. This disease is also known as the human itch mite. In the medical field, it is known as Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis. Scabies have been around for centuries. Scabies was first documented in a letter written by Dr. Giovan Cosimo Bonomo on July, 18, 1687, to Francesco Redi2. This letter provided the first accurate presentation of the mite, with detailed drawings of its appearance. In this letter, Dr. Bonomo stated that “the sarcoptes scabiei could be transmitted by direct contact, and it stuck to almost everything.” Dr. Bonomo made the discovery by going to villages that had the ‘itch’, and actually managed to obtain a ‘sac’ from people by sticking a needle …show more content…

It is then examined under a microscope and if any part of the life cycle of the mite is present, then a positive diagnosis is the result. (Parish LC, Witkowski JA. The Saga of Ectoparasitoses; Scabies and Pediculosis. Int J Dermatol, 1999; 38:432-3). The life cycle of the scabies undergo four stages. First, females deposit three to four eggs per day under the skin. These eggs will hatch in three to four days, then larvae move to the skin surface and burrow into the stratum corneum to construct molting pouches. In the larval stage, eggs emerge and have three pair of legs. After the larval molt, the resulting nymphs have four pair of legs. This form molts into slightly larger nymphs before molting into adults. The transmission of the scabies usually is passed by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who is already infested. Even without any symptoms, the infected person can spread the scabies and can easily be transmitted to household members and sexual partners. Scabies is a common condition found worldwide; it affects people of all races and social classes regardless of hygiene. There are one million cases per year in the United States. Institutions such as prisons, nursing homes and childcare centers are often sites of scabies outbreaks due to the crowded conditions and close contact with people. (http://www.cdc.gov/scabies/). Prevention and control are done by avoiding direct skin-to-skin contact with an infected person and

Get Access