Scabies reappears in Barcelona: 28 outbreaks detected this year

Barcelona recorded this year resurgence of scabies cases. According to data from the Public Health Agency of the Catalan capital revealed on Tuesday in the program ‘basics’ by Beteve, so far in 2022 they have been detected 28 outbreaks, almost the same as those registered in all of 2019.

Experts do not point to a single cause to explain these figures. One of the main hypotheses is that more cases are now being declared by those affected, after the covid-19 pandemic had delayed diagnoses.

In addition, there is a new circumstance that has triggered the concern of doctors. Gemma Martín, Dermatology Associate at Hospital del Mar, has declared that since the restrictions have been lifted due to the pandemic, Barcelona has registered an increase in cases that “are stretching out over time”. The cause is that patients begin to offer drug resistance and ointments that have been used so far to combat the disease.

Clothing and textile surfaces

The treatment of scabies is not easy and requires an approach that is not only medical. Cristina Rius, head of the epidemiology service of the Barcelona Public Health Agency, explained in ‘bàsics’ that, before applying creams or taking pills, they must remove mites from clothing and textile surfaces of the infected household.

Martín acknowledged that scabies is not easy to detect either: “It causes itching and, when scratched, it can cause injuries to the genital area, hands and feet,” he said. Regarding the contagion, he specified: “You need a close contact, it is not spread by a handshake. It is caught by sexual transmission or with the cohabitants of a house.