ABSTRACT
Some disorders, such as scabies, are the same the world over, the pattern and incidence of infestations and bites differ markedly from place to place. Scabies is due to infestation with the human scabies mite. Infestation occurs after close skin-to-skin contact with an infested individual, with close contact among children, sexual contact between adults, and contact between patients and their carers being the most frequent but not the only causes of infestation. Norwegian or crusted scabies is the term used to describe a very severe and extensively crusted version of the infestation seen in the frail elderly and congenitally immunodeficient population. Treatment should be instituted the diagnosis has been made to prevent the infestation spreading. Crusted scabies has a different clinical presentation from sporadic scabies and represents an altered host response to the infestation – the mite is no different.
