Treating Whole Communities for Scabies Feasible, Effective

Endemic scabies can be fought successfully by dosing entire communities with ivermectin (Stromectol), results from a randomized trial in the Fiji island chain indicated. Prevalence of scabies fell from 32.1% to 1.9% after a year of community-wide treatment with ivermectin in the cluster-randomized trial -- a relative decline of 94% (95% CI 83%-100%) -- compared with a decrease in prevalence from 36.6% to 18.8% (relative decline 49%, 95% CI 37%-60%) in a community assigned to treatment only of diagnosed cases, reported Andrew Steer, PhD, of Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville, Australia, and colleagues. http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/55129?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-12-10&eun=g721819d0r