Relationship Between Environmental Sanitation and the Incidence of Scabies: A Literature Review

Abstract

It is estimated that two hundred million people in the world suffer from scabies at any one time. The World Health Organization includes scabies in their 2021-2030 roadmap for neglected tropical diseases. Most previous research states that the risk factors for scabies are personal hygiene and environmental sanitation. But other studies state that there is no relationship between scabies and environmental sanitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the results of several studies regarding the relationship between environmental sanitation and the incidence of scabies. This study was a systematic literature review. Journal articles were found by searching through Google Scholar, Pubmed, and Science Direct using the keywords ‘scabies’ and ‘environmental sanitation’. The JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross Sectional Studies was used in examining articles for eligibility. Five research articles were obtained which were published in 2016-2021. From these articles, it was found that poor environmental sanitation, especially from cloth use, was associated with the risk of scabies. Poor environmental sanitation, such as unavailability of clean water, sewerage and garbage disposal, provides an opportunity for scabies mites to breed and spread efficiently.
 Keywords: environmental sanitation, scabies