Crisis unit to curb an “epidemic of scabies” in a Breton high school, university campus affected by “a few cases” in Anjou, center for infested prisoners in the Paris region: difficult to get rid of scabies, a benign skin disease that l ‘we thought she had disappeared but has made a comeback in recent years. So much so that since the end of December, pharmacies have been out of stock of Ascabiol, a lotion prescribed for the treatment of scabies.
“A first out of stock of this specialty based on benzyl benzoate and sulfiram was reported to us last March” we explained to the” National Medicines Safety Agency. “It was due to a disruption in the supply of one of the two active ingredients, resulting in a suspension of the production of Ascabiol. This disruption was effective until the month of July, when the incumbent laboratory of the marketing authorization for this drug has managed to manufacture a small quantity “.
Unfortunately, this quantity was not sufficient to cope with the frequency of this dermatosis caused by a mite. Ascabiol is therefore out of stock again, for an indefinite period. “Solutions allowing the resumption of production and marketing of Ascabiol are being examined within the ANSM” adds the Medicines Safety Agency.
Scabies: a growing epidemic
“This supply problem risks posing management difficulties during scabies epidemics” insisted Didier Che, from the infectious diseases department at the Institute for Public Health Surveillance. Because according to this specialist, who published a study in 2011 on the progression of the disease in France, scabies is far from being on the decline. “On the contrary, we continue to receive reports of episodes of scabies in the community, suggesting that the increase observed in our study is very real,” he said in an interview with AFP.
For the specialist, this progression is due primarily to the increase in “imported cases” with travel and migration, but also to a delay in diagnosis due to ignorance of the disease. this disease is particularly contagious. Hence the development of community cases.
Scabies: what to do about the drug shortage?
Faced with this finding of rupture of Ascabiol, the National Medicines Safety Agency recalls that two solutions previously identified to treat scabies are still marketed and available in France: Stromectol 3 mg tablets (ivermectin), and the lotion. aerosol spray Spregal (esdepallethrin / piperonyl butoxide).
