In the last few months, the number of people with scabies has risen sharply in the Netherlands, and also in Groningen. Scabies is a skin disease caused by a spider-like creature that crawls under the skin. There the animal lays eggs and urinates and defecates, resulting in enormous itching for the infected person.
The disease mainly affects young adults, which means that Groningen as a student city has many cases.
GGD Groningen also notices that scabies has become more prominent. The number of questions they receive daily about the disease has increased considerably compared to last year.
People find it difficult to talk about the disease because there is a taboo on the subject. Infectious disease control doctor Sofieke Hofman of the GGD thinks this is unjustified: ‘Anyone can get scabies. It is actually very important to talk about it in order to inform other people so that they can start treatment if they have been in contact.’
A person can already have scabies before he/she develops any symptoms, so it is essential that it is a subject that can be discussed.
If you are infected yourself, it is best to go to the doctor as soon as possible.