Field teams educate citizens on scabies in Al-Baha

RIYADH: Field teams from Al-Baha Directorate of Health Affairs recently visited homes in the province’s villages to provide education on scabies.
Scabies is a dermatologic condition that can cause itching and rashes.
Dr. Mohammed bin Saad Al-Huraiti, assistant director general of public health, said that educating people is one way of eliminating the disease.
He said that the field teams talked to people about the disease and distributed publications regarding it. He added that the field teams also noticed citizens afflicted with scabies and administered therapeutic measures to them.
Al-Huraiti assured that the disease is not transmitted through a handshake.
It might be sexually acquired in adults but is rarely sexually acquired in children, according to a report.
Recently, six new cases were reported in Al-Laith schools, bringing the total number of infections to 72 in the province in Makkah region.
The latest cases were detected in a girls’ school, with five of those infected with the skin disease being sisters.
Medical teams from the Yalamlam Health Center visited the girls in their home and confirmed they were infected with scabies. The students were given a break from school.
Earlier, nine people were also found with scabies in the province. Health Ministry Spokesman Faisal Al-Zahrani said those infected were from a local school.
They included four males and two female students, a male security guard and two female security guards.
The ministry sent a special medical team as back up to health professionals in the region to help with the treatment of patients.
“There is no cause for alarm, with treatment merely requiring application of mild cream on affected areas of the body,” Al-Zahrani said.