Scabies outbreak among healthcare workers in a German acute care hospital

This article reports on a scabies outbreak among healthcare workers (HCW) in an acute care hospital. The outbreak was associated with a patient suffering from a chronic skin disease that was later diagnosed as crusted scabies.

The objective was to determine the outbreak drivers and define a prevention strategy against future outbreaks.

All staff that had contact with the patient were treated with 5% permethrin ointment. An interdisciplinary outbreak investigation team was established. The team conducted a questionnaire-based case-control study.

After the permethrin treatment, no further case was found. Twenty-seven HCWs who had contact with the index patient answered the questionnaire (response rate 73%). The outbreak questionnaire revealed 13 cases of secondary scabies among HCWs. In the multivariable analysis, a lack of glove use (odds ratio [OR], 9.8; P value = 0.036) and frequent close physical contact (OR, 8.151; P value = 0.038) were associated with increased risk of scabies acquisition.

The scabies outbreak was most likely driven by three factors: an index patient with crusted scabies; a delayed diagnosis of this patient; and close physical contact without gloves during his hospital stay. The use of disposable gloves for patients with unclear dermatological diagnosis have the potential to limit future scabies outbreaks.