Scabies-Renaissance Of An Ectoparasite Infection Diagnosis And Therapy-How To Proceed In Practice

Scabies or mange is currently a common dermatosis in Germany and other countries, and should be more important in health policy. It affects a cross-section of society, including all age groups, from infants to the aged. Locals and people with a migration background both suffer from this highly contagious ectoparasite infection with excessive, predominately nocturnal itching. Clinical diagnosis represents a challenge for the experienced dermatologist due to the variety of dermatosis to be considered in the differential diagnosis. It is still unclear whether treatment failure or the recurrences observed everywhere are due to in vitro and in vivo resistance of the pathogen agent Sarcoptes scabiei against permethrin or ivermectin. Therapeutic errors seem to play a role as often not all direct contact persons are recorded and treated with antiscabious treatment. They form the reservoir for reinfections. In the event of repeated nonresponse to topical (permethrin) and/or oral antiscabious treatment, alternative topical preparations-benzyl benzoate or crotamiton-should be used. Combination with ivermectin is mandatory.