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Kim, Jeong, Park, and Choi: A Survey on the Scabies Outbreak and Infection Control
Original Article

Korean Journal of Healthcare-Associated Infection Control and Prevention 2019; 24(1): 1-10.

Published online: 28 June 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14192/kjhaicp.2019.24.1.1

A Survey on the Scabies Outbreak and Infection Control

Sin Jeong Kim1, 2, Jae Sim Jeong1, Eun Suk Park2, Sang Ho Choi3

1Department of Clinical Nursing, Graduate School of Industry, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.

2Department of Infection Control, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

3Department of Infection Disease, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence to: Jae Sim Jeong, Department of Clinical Nursing, University of Ulsan, 88 Olympic-ro 43gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 05505, Korea. Tel: 02-3010-5311, Fax: 02-3010-5332, jsjeong@amc.seoul.kr

Received 5 May 2018       Revised 1 October 2018       Accepted 15 January 2019

Copyright © 2019 Korean Society for Healthcare-Associated Infection Control and Prevention

Korean Society for Healthcare-Associated Infection Control and Prevention

Abstract

Background

Scabies is a skin disease caused by Sarcoptesscabiei var. hominis and is transmitted through skin contact. In Korea, its prevalence has decreased since 1990 to approximately <1%. However, recently, the number of patients with scabies has been increasing.

Methods

In this study, 70 hospitals with ≥100 beds and an infection control department were selected by convenient sampling. This study was a cross-sectional survey using a retrospective self-report questionnaire. We surveyed the yearly frequency of scabies infections at the selected hospitals from January 1, 2009, to April 30, 2014. The characteristics and infection controls of cases in the latest outbreaks were documented.

Results

The mean number of beds was 607.8. Of the surveyed hospitals, 44% performed screening for scabies on admission. There were 43 (86.0%) hospitals in which an occurrence of scabies (outpatients, inpatients, staff) was reported at the infection control department during the sampling period, and the yearly percentage increased steadily. Thirty hospitals (60.0%) experienced a scabies outbreak, and the mean age of patients during the scabies outbreak was 70.2 years. Accordingly, 66.7% of the patients were admitted through long-term care facilities. Among the patients with scabies, 47.0% had pruritus on admission, and the mean period until the diagnosis of scabies was 27.3 (1-150) days. At the outbreak of scabies, 64.5% of patients were isolated to a single room. In addition, gowns (83.9%) and gloves (90.3%) were implemented, and used linens were placed in a plastic bag and the bag was sealed airtight, labeled, and disposed separately (86.6%). In 67.7% of the patients, environmental disinfection was conducted in the same way as that for other (non-outbreak) patients' rooms.

Conclusion

It is necessary for each hospital to prepare a scabies screening system that is fit to be used on patients at their admission in order to control the outbreak of scabies. In the future, additional surveys will need to be conducted to identify control measures for scabies infection in long-term care facilities.

Keywords: Attack rate, Infection control, Outbreak, Scabies

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Yearly number of hospitals which experienced scabies and number of associated patients. *Only 4 months (from January to April) data were analysed.

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Table 1

Characteristics of index patients identified during scabies outbreak (N=30)

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Table 2

Attack rate of primary and secondary scabies exposure (N=29)

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Table 3

Infection control during scabies outbreak (N=30)

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