The Demographic Features of Scabies in Misurata - Libya

الملخص

Scabies is a neglected ectoparasitic disease that is a major public health problem in many resource-poor regions. Scabies is
a prevalent skin condition that affects people of all classes and ethnicities all over the world. The epidemiology of scabies
among the cities and rural population in Libya is not adequately studied before.
The aim of the study was to determine the characteristics of patients with Sarcoptes scabiei and the magnitude of the
problem (scabies infestation) among the patients attending Alanwar dermatology clinic which located in Misurata city.
This case series study was carried out on the medical records of 4616 patients with different skin diseases, resident in
different districts in Misurata and visited Alanwar private dermatology clinic during the study period 2001-2006. The data
was collected by reviewing the medical records and an epidemiological analysis of scabies cases was performed, with a
focus on the age, sex and area of residency.
The study revealed that the overall percentage of scabies was 4% (186/4616). The total number of patients with scabies in
the year 2001 were 64 patients out of 2050 patients with different dermatology complains (3.1%) and in year 2006 were 121
cases among 2566 cases (4.7%). The most affected age group in both years was in between 1 to 20 years, (51.6%), (33.6%)
respectively, male was more affected by scabies in both years than females. The study also indicated that the disease is
more predominant within patients living in areas with high crowding index (Algerhan). In conclusion, our data provided
the first picture of the epidemiology of scabies in Misurata city, in view of our study results.
The study concludes that scabies infestation is present in our communities, and it commonly infests the younger age males,
and people living in overcrowded areas