According to an evaluation by the Barmer health insurance company, the number of scabies cases in Bavaria has fallen significantly in recent years. In 2022, Bavarian doctors diagnosed 39,000 cases – in 2019 there were 44,000, around eleven percent more, Barmer announced on Thursday.
The decline was particularly strong among children, adolescents and young adults. Children, the elderly and sick people in particular became infected easily, which is why scabies mites spread primarily in kindergartens, nursing homes and hospitals. “It therefore stands to reason that the contact restrictions in the corona pandemic are partly responsible for the falling numbers,” said the state manager of Barmer in Bavaria, Alfred Kindshofer.
Scabies is caused by the feces of the scabies mite and leads to itching and burning inflammation. The mites prefer to lay their eggs in the upper layer of skin on warm parts of the body, for example between the fingers, in the armpits or on the genitals. Barmer advises those affected to go to the doctor if they suspect it, to change their clothes regularly and to wash them at at least 50 degrees.