Scabies in displaced families: Health care problem that need urgent action

Abstract

Background: Scabies is a common skin infection with worldwide distribution, mainly in developing countries. Aim: To estimate the frequency of scabies in displaced community. Methodology: The study was conducted in Kirkuk in a dermatology clinic during the period from 1st of October 2015 to the end of October 2016. A total of 1639 subjects were included in the study, of them 860 (52.5%) were male and 779 (47.5%) were female, with age range from 1 month to 90 years for male, and 25 days to 80 years for female. Results: During the study period 153 scabies cases were identifies with overall incidence rate of 9.33%, 9.88% in male and 8.73% in female. The incidence was significantly higher (12.2%) in subjects with age of 1-12 years as compared to those with age of ≥13 years (8.03%). The majority of cases (95.4%) were in displaced community. Conclusion: Scabies infestation in displaced communities is a public health problem with social and psychological impact on both displaced communities and Kirkuk city residents. Actions are needed to provide effective treatment and control.

Keywords

• Scabies
• Displacement
• Iraq