Gwangju Seo-gu Conducts 'Special Scabies Mite Disinfection' for Nursing Facilities

Published 23 Jun.2023 15:55(KST)

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Ikang) recently conducted special disinfection against scabies mites following the occurrence of suspected scabies patients in Gwangju.

According to Seo-gu on the 23rd, scabies is a contagious skin disease caused by mites, characterized by severe itching, red rashes at skin folds, and blisters.

Exterior view of Seogu Office building <br>[Photo by Seogu]

Exterior view of Seogu Office building
[Photo by Seogu]

It is transmitted through direct skin contact with an infected person, but it is also known to spread through shared use of bedding and clothing.

Accordingly, Seo-gu provided guidance on scabies mite prevention disinfection methods and management guidelines to nursing facilities in the district where elderly people live collectively, and carried out disinfection to prevent infection.

In particular, they instructed that in case of a group outbreak of scabies patients within a facility, infection control measures should be taken and the health center should be reported without delay.

To prevent the spread of scabies in nursing facilities, elderly patients complaining of skin itching or showing symptoms suspected of scabies should be referred to dermatology, and when scabies patients occur, close contacts should be identified and simultaneous treatment considered.

Also, the clothes and bedding of scabies patients should be machine washed in hot water above 50℃ and dried at high temperature for 10 to 20 minutes, then sealed in a plastic bag and left for 7 days.

A Seo-gu official said, “Scabies is a highly contagious disease that mainly occurs in the elderly, and since there is a high possibility of group transmission when patients occur, we will do our best to prevent patient outbreaks within nursing facilities.”