BOLZANO. Scabies drugs are too expensive: there are those who cannot afford treatment. For an average family, treatment costs around 6-700 euro. And so, now the therapies become reimbursable. The provincial council has established this, with a resolution by councilor Hubert Messner approved during the last session and the approval of Dermatology.
“It’s good that the resolution has arrived,” said the head physician Klaus Eisendle. He had been reporting the problem for months, acute in the case of the epidemic in the prison on Via Dante, but still present throughout Alto Adige, where according to estimates by the Health Authority there are about 200 cases per yearand including people living together or in close contact, the number of individuals to be treated rises to 2 thousand, with a total cost of 275,500 euros.
How the contagion occurs
Scabies is a parasitic infection caused by a mite, Sarcoptes scabiei (hominis variant), which burrows into the skin and lays eggs, usually causing intense itching and rashes. Eisendle warns: “Be careful, not everyone shows symptoms. Therefore, it is important that if even one case is discovered, everyone in the family follows the treatment, including any partners outside the household.” In fact, contagion occurs through close direct contact, for example by living in the same home or through sexual intercourse, but also in community settings such as long-term care facilities, child care facilities, barracks, and prisons.
High costs
And here lies the problem. The therapy (tablets of ivermectin for oral use and permethrin 5% topical cream, to be repeated after a week to be sure that the infection has been eradicated) costs a minimum of 100 euros per person, 137 according to the estimate expressed in the resolution. For an average family unit, it is 6-700 euros. In Trento, ivermectin is already reimbursable, but not permethrin.
Last May, the South Tyrolean Health Authority reported low adherence to therapy due to the cost of drugs, especially in cases where it was necessary to treat the entire family unit. In fact, if the hospital pharmacy purchases drugs for inpatients, prisoners, guests of nursing homes and patients of the clinic for temporarily present foreigners, those who follow the therapy at home must shoulder the costs.
Hence Messner’s decision to include treatment with ivermectin and permethrin among the Lea, the essential levels of assistance, for patients affected by scabies and for their cohabitants registered with the provincial health service.
The epidemic in prison
The news of the scabies epidemic last winter in the prison of Bolzano had caused a stir. The first case was confirmed on December 11, 2023, the last report of suspected scabies dates back to May 8, with health isolation ending on May 15. S.M.
2024-09-25 01:31:40