Taipei City Hospital Yangming Branch has reported a nosocomial outbreak of scabies after two patients who shared a ward with a person being treated for the skin condition also tested positive.

The two positive cases were found after the hospital tested a total of 57 patients and staff members who had stayed in the same ward.

Due to the four-to-eight-week incubation period for scabies, the hospital said that 55 others remained under surveillance pending further checks.

The two positive cases came after several patients began reporting suspected symptoms of scabies, including a rash, on Oct. 29, according to the hospital’s chief medical officer Ho Chin-yu (???).

Those infected had previously shared a ward with a scabies patient admitted to the Yangming Branch on Sept. 30. The patient had been treated for more than 10 days elsewhere and tested negative for scabies on Oct. 29, Ho said.

Scabies is a contagious skin infestation transmitted by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, which burrows into the skin and deposits eggs.

While scabies is not a reportable disease in Taiwan, it can cause severe itchiness, rashes and blisters, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel