A nasty Victorian-era parasite has caused hospital wards in the UK to shut their doors after an outbreak.
Numerous UK hospital wards have been forced to shut after an outbreak of a grim “highly contagious” Victorian-era parasite. Scabies, the skin parasite behind the recent outbreak, is caused by eight-legged mites that burrow under the skin and lay eggs.
The health issue was common during the Victorian-era as Brits attempted to use sulphur-based preparations to fight the nasty parasite. The Cadog and Dewi Wards at the Glangwili General Hospital in Carmarthen, Wales, have been shut for visitors and new admissions after the outbreak.
Hywel Dda Health Board confirmed the ward closure on their website and said: “We are currently managing a scabies outbreak on the Cadog and Dewi Wards at Glangwili General Hospital.”
Glangwili Hospital was previously hit with multiple scabies incidents, as docs were forced to shut Steffan Ward in July after another scabies outbreak.
The statement added: “As a precaution, the wards are temporarily closed to new admissions and visitors from today, Tuesday 20 October. The situation is being reviewed regularly and the risk to the wider public remains low.”
The nasty parasite can burrow under the skin and lay eggs leading to a number of health complications. This can leave those suffering from the parasite incredibly itchy and battling blotchy red rashes.
These rashes can often be crusty and flaky as areas such as the elbows, knees, feet hands, and skin between the fingers and wrist can often be affected.
The ailment can often spread to various other parts of the body such as the armpits, waist, groin and bottom. These rashes can sometimes be so severe they lead to secondary bacterial infections.
The UK Health Security Agency states: “Scabies is a parasitic infection of the skin caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite, which buries into the skin and causes intense itching and rashes. Transmission from person to person occurs through close physical contact including, but not exclusively, sexual contact.”
Scabies requires treatment to go away, and infections don’t pass with time. According to experts scabies is not usually a serious condition but it does need to be treated.
Anyone diagnosed with scabies should begin treatment, and all people in their household will also need to be treated at the same time, regardless of whether they have symptoms.
The NHS added: “Scabies is an itchy rash caused by mites. It’s spread through close skin contact, and anyone can get it. It should be treated quickly to stop it spreading.
“Adults and children aged five years or over can go back to work or school as soon as they have started treatment, but it’s important to avoid close contact with other people for the first 24 hours. Children under five years old can go back to nursery or pre-school 24 hours after the first treatment.”