London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hundreds of people in the UK have been hospitalised after contracting a rare skin condition.
According to new figures from the NHS, there has been a climb in those diagnosed with scabies. It is a rash induced by tiny mites which excavate into the skin. The illness can usually be ministered with a cream or lotion but can be very itchy. The NHS expressed that people with a weakened immune system can sometimes contract a rare and very contagious type of scabies called crusted scabies. Rubbing the rash can cause skin conditions like impetigo.
Scabies can also make conditions like eczema or psoriasis more threatening, the NHS expressed.
Experts believe poverty and falling vaccination rates are behind the wave in diseases such as scabies, measles and whooping cough. Measles and whooping cough are also at the peak in many areas across Britain. Scabies is expressed to be on the rise in Yorkshire, YorkshireLive reports.
Why are measles and whooping cough diagnoses increasing?
In Doncaster and York, measles was more apparent with 20 diagnosed in Doncaster, compared with zero a year earlier, and 10 in York, compared with zero a year earlier. Measles usually begins with cold-like symptoms before expanding into a rash.
It can cause severe complications if it extends to the lungs or the brain. Across England, attendance resulting in a measles diagnosis rose five-fold, to 2,305 visits last year.
This was the biggest increase among any disease with at least 1,000 hospitalisations in England. Whooping cough diagnoses also doubled, with 1,696 for the year.
What are the potential complications of untreated measles?
The UK Health Service Authority stated the rise in measles hospitalisations could be a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for declining vaccination rates. A spokesperson said: “In addition to measles, many children are also missing out on protection against other serious diseases, including whooping cough, meningitis, diphtheria and polio. It is especially tragic to see kids suffer when these diseases are so easily preventable.”
Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccination and screening, stated: “These worrying figures stress that too many children are still not fully guarded against diseases like measles and whooping cough, which can generate serious illness but are preventable. Vaccines are parents’ best defence against these illnesses – that’s why the NHS offers them free, saving thousands of lives and preventing tens of thousands of hospital admissions every year.”