GREENVILLE – The Ohio Department of Health is investigating a scabies outbreak in Montgomery County, however, said Public Information Officer Melanie Amato.
The first case had an onset date of Jan. 7, she said.
On Friday, Koester Pavilion assisted living facility in Troy reported a scabies outbreak.
Health Commissioner Dr. Terrence L. Holman, of the Darke County Health Department said there are no confirmed cases in the area. But offered, the reason this particular type of scabies is spreading a little faster is because it is a Norweigan variety, he said.
“This particular one transmits a little more readily than the others, because the mites and the eggs are also in the scabs,” he said. “It typically takes four weeks to spread, but this one spreads a little faster because the scabs, containing the mites and the eggs detach. This is not going to spread by air.”
“You get an itching, because the mites burrow underneath your skin, causing you to itch and you scratch,” Holman added. “It’s an intense itch that can make open wounds.”
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, an eight-legged might, that is invisible to the eye causes this reaction in the skin. The mite burrows into the top layer of the skin to live and feed. When the skin reacts to the mite, an extremely itchy rash develops.
You can get the mite on your skin through:
Direct skin-to-skin contact.
Contact with an infested object such as a towel, bedding, or upholstered furniture.
You cannot get scabies from an animal that has mites. Only humans get this type of scabies.
Public Information Supervisor at Public Health – Dayton and Montgomery County Dan Suffoletto said the latest confirmed cases are 106 at Kettering Medical Center and eight at Sycamore Medical Center.
“The itching comes from the allergic reaction to the mite,” Suffoletto said. “The good news is it is easily treatable with a cream a lotion or a pill.”
For more information, visit www.aad.org.