Scabies is a parasitic infestation of the skin with the parasitic 'itch mite' Sarcoptes scabiei. The tiny mite burrows into the upper layers of the skin causing intensely itchy lesions which commonly become infected with bacteria. In humans, scabies is a particularly significant disease in children, but occurs in both sexes, at all ages, in all ethnic groups, and at all socioeconomic levels. Transmission of the mites from one person to the next is by direct skin to skin contact.

Scabies is a significant disease worldwide in humans, wildlife, livestock and domestic animals and is a particularly serious problem in many remote Australia Indigenous communities, where overcrowded living conditions are a major factor contributing to high rates of transmission.

Our research focus:
  • To conduct community based treatment projects aimed at reducing the prevalence of skin infections
  • To build capacity in local community workers in recognising and treating skin infections and in research methods
  • To monitor for and investigate the molecular mechanisms of emerging drug resistance in scabies mites
  • To investigate how scabies mites live and survive in the skin. Proteins which may be essential for mite survival could be targets for the design of alternative treatments for scabies
  • To investigate how the infested person’s immune system responds to the scabies mites, and why some people’s immune systems react differently to the mites, resulting in severe infestation known as crusted scabies.
Our research impact:
  • We have conducted a comprehensive Healthy Skin program in the East Arnhem region. This included annual mass community scabies treatment days and routine screening and treatment of other skin infections.
  • We have conducted a treatment trial for scabies and strongyloidiasis in which 1300 adults and children from Galiwin’ku community participated. Following training, some community members acted as researchers on the project, describing the project to other community members in Yolngu language and performing skin screening, blood taking and treatment administration.
  • We are building capacity in community based researchers with 15 community members completing a Certificate II in Child Health Research, six completed a blood taking course and three obtained a medication skills-assist qualification. With the help of the Red Cross, we also organised first aid training with 60 community members receiving first aid certificates.
  • We use an established laboratory test to determine the sensitivity of scabies mites collected from scabies patients, to current treatments. This enables us to assess the likely effectiveness of treatments used for individual crusted scabies patients, as well as monitor for the emergence of drug resistance in scabies mites.