The Prevalence of Scabies in District Abbottabad of Pakistan

Abstract

Scabies is a skin infection which is caused by pathogen Sarcoptes scabiei. It is a contagious disease which is transmitted from one to another person through direct contact but can also be transmitted due to sharing of things like towels, clothing etc. It was estimated that almost 300 million cases of scabies occur worldwide. It is characterized by itching, rash, sores and thick crusts on different body parts such as fingers, axilla, wrist, and genitalia etc. The burrow ink and handheld tests are mostly used to screen a large number of patients. The current study was conducted to analyze the 3 years trend of scabies epidemiology on Tehsil level in different health care units of District Abbottabad during January 2017 December 2019. During the study period total 44,569 cases were reported in District Abbottabad. Results have shown that Primary health care facilities have highest proportion of scabies (67.38%) and prevalence was highest during 2018 (37.90%). The Highest frequency (32%) of scabies occurred during summer with peak in July. Tehsil Abbottabad (67.21%) showed high prevalence as compared to Havelian (32.79%). Risk factors for scabies prevalence might be higher humidity, physical overcrowding, illiteracy, and low socioeconomic status. There is a positive association between number of cases of scabies, temperature, and humidity because these factors provide suitable conditions for parasite growth and their survival in human body. The current findings may help the government in making infrastructure for the health-care system development in future. Keywords: Scabies, Sarcoptes scabiei, Northern Pakistan