PRO/EDR> Scabies - Switzerland: (SG) asylum seekers
SCABIES - SWITZERLAND: (SANKT GALLEN) ASYLUM SEEKERS
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Thu 26 Nov 2015
Source: Obersee News [machine translation, edited]
<http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/
In a letter, the St. Gallen cantonal doctor Dr. Markus Betschart
[appealed] to all doctors in the canton that when asylum seekers
present with scabies and bacterial infections as skin problems they
should be especially observed.
"GPs increasingly treat asylum seekers, and we want to make them aware
of scabies and the treatment options," explained Betschart in his
letter.
An accumulation of scabies was confirmed by GP Reto Gross, who
regularly deals with refugees from the reception center Altstaetten.
In 2015 dozens of cases have been treated. And he sees only a fraction
of the asylum seekers, who seek out various other doctors in the
region.
Scabies is a parasitic skin disease that is caused by the scabies mite
(_Sarcoptes scabiei_). The female mites burrow into the skin, where
they leave droppings and lay their eggs, resulting in irritation.
Scabies is transmitted by intimate physical contact, such as when you
sleep in the same bed, but also in unhygienic conditions. "For an
infection you have to come very close," says Gross. He knew of no
cases of employees in the processing center having been infected. The
scabies mites also like to embed themselves in clothes and linens.
The skin disease [produces] an itchy rash. Particularly affected are
hands, nipples, armpits and genitals. It is especially unpleasant at
night. The problem arises when the patient scratches a great deal,
when the bubbles can open and become infected. "Because I've seen
severe cases," says Gross.
Treatment for scabies is a cream [that contains a pyrethroid
insecticide]. "You take a shower, apply the cream all over your body
and leave it for 8 hours, preferably overnight," says Gross. In
addition, clothes and bedding must be washed to at least 60 degrees
[centigrade] to kill the mites.
Scabies mites are not the only 'bugs' to be combatted; bed bugs are
also plaguing asylum seekers. The Migration Office of St. Gallen has
developed a containment strategy: "If we accept asylum seekers from
the federal government, we [require them] to leave all their clothes.
These we freeze for 48 hours," says Urs Weber, Head of the St. Gallen
Department of Migration Centres.
******************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Thu 26 Nov 2015
Source: Obersee News [machine translation, edited]
<http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/
In a letter, the St. Gallen cantonal doctor Dr. Markus Betschart
[appealed] to all doctors in the canton that when asylum seekers
present with scabies and bacterial infections as skin problems they
should be especially observed.
"GPs increasingly treat asylum seekers, and we want to make them aware
of scabies and the treatment options," explained Betschart in his
letter.
An accumulation of scabies was confirmed by GP Reto Gross, who
regularly deals with refugees from the reception center Altstaetten.
In 2015 dozens of cases have been treated. And he sees only a fraction
of the asylum seekers, who seek out various other doctors in the
region.
Scabies is a parasitic skin disease that is caused by the scabies mite
(_Sarcoptes scabiei_). The female mites burrow into the skin, where
they leave droppings and lay their eggs, resulting in irritation.
Scabies is transmitted by intimate physical contact, such as when you
sleep in the same bed, but also in unhygienic conditions. "For an
infection you have to come very close," says Gross. He knew of no
cases of employees in the processing center having been infected. The
scabies mites also like to embed themselves in clothes and linens.
The skin disease [produces] an itchy rash. Particularly affected are
hands, nipples, armpits and genitals. It is especially unpleasant at
night. The problem arises when the patient scratches a great deal,
when the bubbles can open and become infected. "Because I've seen
severe cases," says Gross.
Treatment for scabies is a cream [that contains a pyrethroid
insecticide]. "You take a shower, apply the cream all over your body
and leave it for 8 hours, preferably overnight," says Gross. In
addition, clothes and bedding must be washed to at least 60 degrees
[centigrade] to kill the mites.
Scabies mites are not the only 'bugs' to be combatted; bed bugs are
also plaguing asylum seekers. The Migration Office of St. Gallen has
developed a containment strategy: "If we accept asylum seekers from
the federal government, we [require them] to leave all their clothes.
These we freeze for 48 hours," says Urs Weber, Head of the St. Gallen
Department of Migration Centres.
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17:06 (18 hours ago)
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Check for intestinal parasites. Vietnamese refugees in North Toronto had numerous parasites (up to seven per person).
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