"Victorian Disease Making a Comeback in the UK: A Touch Away from Disrupting Schools and Care Homes!"

Schools and care homes could soon be under siege from a Victorian disease that can trigger nightmare attacks of itching, scientists have warned.

Leading public health experts fear there could be a “substantial increase” in outbreaks over the coming weeks.

Dr Jo Middleton, a senior research fellow at the University of Sussex said he was seeing scabies oubreaks “constantly”Credit: NHS

Scabies, that burrow into the skin, easily spreads if people are in close contact.

If not properly treated, scabies or even years as the mites reproduce in the skin, while the parasite and its eggs can also live in bed sheets and towels.

Latest figures from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Research and Surveillance Centre show scabies consultations are double the five-year national average.

Within the last week alone, GPs saw just under 900 cases of scabies across – almost 20 per cent higher than the figure logged in the same week last year.

Dr Jo Middleton, a senior research fellow in public health at the University of told Metro : “We are seeing outbreaks in institutions constantly.

“Anybody can get scabies, that is why it is so contagious. You just need to be touched by somebody.’

One reason why are so vulnerable is because it takes four to six weeks for signs of the conditions to show, but you can be infectious from as early as two weeks in, he added.

“It’s always a catch up game – by the time that individuals are starting to scratch and itch, you can guarantee other people have become infected in a school and family.

“These things transmit unpredictably. Friends are in different classes, family members in different year groups.

“It causes massive logistical problems, sleeping problems and stigma which interfere with learning.”

Experts have already sounded the alarm over the rise in cases, including in schools and care .

Earlier this week, Dr Lewis Haddow, a consultant in HIV and sexual health at Kingston Hospital Foundation Trust, said he was “seeing scabies all the time”.

In November, a college in Paignton, Devon and , Devon, were also reportedly dealing with “cases of scabies” and closed to “protect children”.

Last year, a report by the UK Security Agency (UKHSA) also found there was a 44 per cent increase in scabies diagnoses at sexual health services between 2023 and 2024.

Scabies can be passed on during sex – although it is not .

Symptoms typically begin three to six weeks after infection, but in a person who’s had a prior infection they can occur as early as one to three days.

Diagnosing it can be tricky because the tell-tale red rash, which is typically seen in the skinfolds inside the elbow, knee, buttocks and between fingers and toes, can take months to appear.

Scratching can exacerbate other skin conditions such as or , and may lead to bacterial infections.

Those with weaker immune systems may be vulnerable to crusted scabies – a more severe form of the disease involving more mites.

According to the UKHSA and The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, several factors could be behind the surge.

These include post-pandemic social mixing and more skin contact after years of distancing, increased awareness and testing at sexual health clinics and crowded living conditions.

Many younger people live in house shares with friends or families, they note.

Experts also believe it could have been triggered by a shortage in scabies two years ago.

Others have blamed long NHS waits for treatment.

For decades the first-line treatment , which is applied over the whole body, left for 12 hours and reapplied a week later to kill remaining eggs.

According to the UKHSA and The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, several factors could be behind the surge in scabiesCredit: Getty

Everyone at home needs to be treated at the same time, even if they do not have symptoms.

But mounting evidence suggests scabies have built resistance to the drug, making the cream all but useless.

One 2024 published in the Journal of Clinical concluded that ‘permethrin-resistant scabies is an escalating threat’.

Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic oral tablet treatment which still works, was approved as an NHS scabies treatment in 2023.

But, while it’s easier to use, some do not consider it more effective, and it is expensive.

The drug following unfounded claims that it might be a suitable treatment, and an alternative to vaccination, despite a lack of credible evidence.

Trials have shown that in a small number of cases, patients may suffer from side effects such as dizziness and a rash similar to the infection.