Epidemiology of scabies in the West Bank, Palestinian Territories (Occupied)

SummaryBackgroundScabies is a disease that is considered a public health problem in the Palestinian Territories and in other countries around the world. Scabies causes skin lesions leading to substantial morbidity, and is also associated with social stigma. In this study we describe the epidemiology of scabies in the West Bank, Palestine during the years 2005–2010.MethodsWe examined the records and profiles of a total of 1734 patients who were admitted to the dermatology clinics of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in 2005–2010.ResultsThe disease was found to be prevalent in all governorates. The average annual incidence of scabies in the West Bank for 2005–2010 was 17/100 000 population. The average number of scabies patients per year in the West Bank was 26.3 per governorate, with a significant increase in the years 2009 and 2010 (p