Several kindergarten students have been infected with scabies in Rennes. What are the health risks ?
About ten cases of scabies have been diagnosed at Jules-Isaac nursery school, in Rennes, reports West France. The Regional Health Agency (ARS) organized a meeting to inform families and teachers. “Our priority is to avoid psychosis among parents,” explains Thomas Billebeaud, president of the parents’ association. The best course of action is that everyone should take the preventive treatment at the same time “.
UA protocol has also been put in place with the inspection of the academy and the ARS, as well as measures have been put in place to limit the contagion of the disease. “For example, forgotten clothes were collected, then locked in plastic bags.”
A “mite” infiltrates under the epidermis
Scabies is a parasitic dermatological disease caused by a “mite” which is scientifically called Sarcoptes scabiei hominis. This highly contagious infectious disease causes itching and sores on the skin. It is not serious in itself but can be the subject of secondary bacterial infections.
The mite responsible for human scabies, the sarcopte, measures 300 microns and infiltrates under the epidermis. Only fertilized females cause the infection because they are looking for a place to lay their eggs. Their paths under the skin are the cause of dermatological lesions, while their excrement provokes an allergic inflammatory reaction responsible for the itching. The parasites lay about 3 to 5 eggs per day which hatch in 2 to 4 days. After two to three weeks of incubation, the larvae develop into adults with a life expectancy of about 2 months.
The major sign of scabies is an itchy rash at night, since females lay their eggs at night. The characteristic itchy areas are in the spaces between the fingers, the anterior aspect of the wrists, elbows, armpits, areolas, navel, inner thighs, genitals, knees and ankles.
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