2024-01-06 13:25:31
Several cases of scabies were recently reported in Geneva in a home for the elderly. A very contagious parasitic disease, so it is important to get tested if suspected.
Scabies begins with an irresistible urge to scratch, then small red spots appear, mainly between the fingers. This is what happened to the father of Philippe Otten, a patient in a day home for the elderly:
“He started having terrible itching that disrupted his sleep since mid-October. We tried cortisone ointments, changed his medications, thought he had an allergy and even looked at the laundry. But we didn’t think regarding the scabies.”
His father is one of five cases of scabies that appeared this fall in a day home for the elderly in Geneva. The outbreak has since been monitored by the services of the cantonal doctor.
Strict protocol
The deputy director of the day center describes the strict protocol that has been put in place: “when people are diagnosed with scabies, they no longer come to the center. They must take their treatment and following two weeks they can return, if there is no new itching.”
Scabies is a highly contagious disease that requires prolonged contact with the skin. In 2023, the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) recorded an increase in scabies consultations of 46% compared to 2022.
Juliette Cloppet Mouchet, public health nurse, recalls the importance of being examined by a doctor: “a consultation can lead to treating several people, or even a whole group of people. There is always an increase in winter, because the people are staying inside apartments more.”
A necessary diagnosis
Doctor Emmanuel Laffite, head of the HUG dermatological outpatient clinic unit, explains that the diagnosis is not always obvious: “before treating a patient, it is important to be certain of the diagnosis. We see that this makes a line is what we call a furrow and at the end of this furrow we see the parasite.”
He adds that scabies “is not a sign of dirt, it is an annoying disease but not serious. Humanity has always been in contact with scabies and its disappearance is illusory.”
In the event of contamination, you must then disinfect your environment, wash clothing that can be washed at 60 degrees and freeze the rest.
In 2023, 200 million people worldwide will get scabies, according to the WHO.
TV subject: Camille Lanci
Adaptation web: mac
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