200 patients treated; no recurrences reported
Logan County Health District officials offered a special “thank you” to staff members at the Wednesday afternoon board of health meeting for their assistance with a treatment day last month that appears to have put an end to the scabies outbreak in the county.
Logan County Health Commissioner Dr. Boyd Hoddinott, seated at the far left, offers a special “thank you” to Logan County Health District staff standing behind him during the Wednesday afternoon board of health meeting in appreciation for assistance with a scabies treatment day in November. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
County Health Commissioner Dr. Boyd Hoddinott said health district nurses and other personnel, in partnership with Mary Rutan Hospital staff, helped to organize and staff the clinics hosted at several facilities in the county Nov. 17, where approximately 200 patients were treated.
The health commissioner noted that three cases of the severe form of the skin infestation, called Norwegian scabies, have been confirmed, along with five cases of regular scabies in Logan County. The other individuals who were treated had been in contact with the confirmed cases.
He said each of the cases have been reported in adults of various ages, and the infestation often afflicts those with weakened immune systems, and the disabled or elderly.
Scabies are mites that burrow into the upper layer of skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The Norwegian or “crusted” scabies is “incredibly contagious,” Dr. Hoddinott said at the board of health meeting in October, when the outbreak was first reported.
“As a practicing physician, I had never run into Norwegian scabies before. With this form of the scabies, each of the scabs that the person develops can have up to 10,000 mites.
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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