Shocking Outbreak of Scabies Disease Among Inpatients at Mokpo Nursing Hospital

Family: "Visitation restricted, poor hygiene management caused outbreak"

Hospital: "No additional cases... Cannot confirm if we caused the outbreak"

Scabies disease occurred in patient A admitted to a nursing hospital in Mokpo / ⓒ Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Ki-dong] A patient in a nursing hospital in Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do, has shocked the public by contracting scabies, a disease known as a developing country-type illness.

According to the family of a patient hospitalized at a nursing hospital in Mokpo on the 25th, they were shocked to see the patient's entire body covered with spots and scratched wounds, with reddened skin on the 22nd.

They immediately took the patient to a dermatology specialist hospital, where the patient was diagnosed with scabies.

The family of Mr. A, who has been hospitalized and receiving treatment at the nursing hospital since the end of December last year, had been checking on the patient's condition through phone calls with medical staff due to restrictions on patient visits amid the COVID-19 situation.

Later, during a visit permitted in February, they noticed Mr. A scratching severely but trusted the medical staff and did not pursue further confirmation.

On the 22nd of last month, they met again for a visit to a general hospital, where they realized the seriousness of the situation and confirmed with the dermatology department that the patient was diagnosed with scabies.

The guardian reportedly discharged Mr. A from the nursing hospital and, after completing scabies treatment at home, arranged admission to another nursing hospital.

Mr. A’s family expressed anger, saying, “Considering that he complained of itching during the February visit, he must have been exposed to the disease for at least two months. Despite the patient repeatedly saying he was itchy, the hospital did not provide any treatment and concealed the scabies diagnosis.”

They especially lamented, “After informing the nursing hospital nurse about the scabies diagnosis, she said, ‘If you say it came from a nursing hospital, they always say it’s scabies,’ and only mentioned that they have scabies medication and would apply more if necessary. We are furious at the nursing hospital’s complacent and irresponsible attitude.”

In response, the hospital stated, “The patient was using a five-person room, but no additional scabies cases were found among other patients in the room or ward. Since no further scabies cases, which is a highly contagious mite infection, have occurred, we cannot confirm whether the cause originated from our hospital.”

They added, “We sincerely apologize for the occurrence of scabies in the hospital and will be more thorough in maintaining cleanliness going forward.”

The Mokpo City Health Center, which received the report, visited the hospital on the 22nd and conducted an investigation but did not find any additional scabies patients.

A representative from the Mokpo City Health Center said, “The elderly, those with weakened immune systems, and people who have long-term bedridden lifestyles have a higher probability of contracting scabies than the general population. Although we could not identify the cause of the scabies outbreak, we urged the hospital to pay closer attention to patient management and cleanliness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.