Almost 40 people have been diagnosed with scabies amid an outbreak across four hospitals in the Illawarra Shoalhaven area, as health authorities warn the public to be alert for symptoms, particularly patients discharged since mid-May.
So far 14 patients and 24 hospital staff have been diagnosed the infectious skin disease – and more cases are likely – in wards at Wollongong, Shellharbour, Bulli and Coledale hospitals, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District said.
A close-up view of the cause of scabies: the Sarcoptes scabiei mite.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
The first case was detected on July 22 at Wollongong Hospital and immediate steps were taken to limit transmission, the health district said in a statement.
Scabies is a treatable skin disease caused by a tiny mite known as Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows under the skin and feeds on dissolved human skin tissue.
Symptoms include an itchy rash, particularly in skin folds, near webbing between fingers, wrists elbows, genitals and breasts. The itching is usually worse at night.
The health district’s chief executive Margot Mains said she recognised the impact that the unpleasant condition has had on patients, and the district was working hard to control the outbreak.
Because scabies has an incubation period of up to six to eight weeks, it can go undetected and is easily transmitted, meaning there may still be undetected cases within the facilities.
“The District took immediate action when a case of scabies was confirmed in a patient,” Mains said.
Staff isolated the ward and began immediate contact tracing of all nearby patients and staff who provided direct physical clinical care. When it was clear that there were cases in other parts of the hospital, the health district established a specialist outbreak response team led by infectious disease clinicians, Mains said.
The health district encouraged people to be on the lookout for symptoms of scabies, in particular patients discharged from [the district’s] hospitals since mid-May.
Anyone who develops symptoms should visit their GP.
Mains reassured the community that scabies is a common and very treatable skin condition.
“This is a preventative action to reduce the risk of ongoing transmission across
our network of hospitals,” she said.
Scabies can be transmitted through prolonged skin-to-skin contact and is generally treated easily and effectively with topical creams or oral medication in more severe cases, with no long term impacts.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: “People don’t have to be worried or scared about it, but we are being over cautious, because we’re operating in hospital settings.”
“That’s why we’re doing everything we can to try and make sure that not only are our patients treated and looked after and prevented from (getting) scabies, but also our staff and those visiting the hospital,” he said.
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