Overview
- GP reports indicate just under 900 scabies cases in England, nearly 20% higher than the same period last year.
- Royal College of GPs members highlight recent clusters in university residences and care homes, with caution that some figures may reflect repeated treatments for one patient.
- Clinicians report frequent misdiagnosis and late presentation, noting closer post‑pandemic contact patterns as an additional factor sustaining transmission.
- NHS guidance advises whole‑body permethrin treatment repeated after seven days, simultaneous treatment of all household contacts, and washing bedding and clothing at 60C on day one.
- Recent data show a 44% rise in diagnoses at sexual health services from 2023 to 2024, while Wales recorded more than 12,000 consultations in 2023–24 compared with 1,300 in 2018–19.