High prevalence of scabies in Auckland pre-schools

Simon Thornley; Gerhard Sundborn; Daniel Engelman; Rachel Roskvist; Maryann Heather; Cielo J Pasay; Roger Marshall; James McCarthy

High prevalence of scabies in Auckland pre-schools

N Z Med J. 2022 Aug 19;135(1560):12-17.

Authors

Simon Thornley¹, Gerhard Sundborn², Daniel Engelman³, Rachel Roskvist⁴, Maryann Heather², Cielo J Pasay⁵, Roger Marshall⁶, James McCarthy⁷

Affiliations

¹ Senior Lecturer, Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
² Senior Lecturer, Section of Pacific Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
³ Team Leader/Clinician Scientist Fellow, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Senior Lecturer and General Practitioner, Department of Primary Care, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁵ Research Officer, QIMR Berghoffer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ Emeritus Professor of Biostatistics, Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁷ Professor of Medicine, Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

PMID: 35999795

Abstract

Aim: Scabies is a difficult disease to diagnose and its prevalence not well established. A strong association between scabies and more serious illnesses in children, for instance acute rheumatic fever, suggests greater understanding of scabies prevalence is warranted. Here, we present initial findings of a study of childcare centres, to estimate the prevalence of scabies in the Auckland community.

Methods: Children in three childcare centres from socio-economically challenged areas were examined for scabies. Diagnoses were made according to the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies (IACS) criteria, whose "clinical" or "suspected" definition consists of examination findings of papules: either "typical" or "atypical" distribution, along with history features of itch and contact with likely other cases. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test was also used.

Results: A total of 67 children were examined, with over half (n=38 or 56.7%) showing signs of typical (14; 20.9%) or atypical (24; 35.8%) scabies lesions. History information was available for 50 children. Of these, nine (18%) met the criteria for "clinical" or "suspected" scabies. Of 27 qPCR tests performed nine (33%) tested positive.

Conclusion: The prevalence of scabies is high in early childcare centres in socio-economically challenged areas of Auckland.

MeSH terms

Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
New Zealand / epidemiology
Prevalence
Rheumatic Fever*
Scabies* / epidemiology