Hundreds of people have been treated in hospital as a result of a rare skin condition prevalent in Victorian times. New NHS figures show an increase in diagnoses of scabies, a rash caused by tiny mites burrowing into the skin. The figures show the number of infections are up by 66% across the country resulting in 5,661 primary and secondary diagnoses.
Although typically not serious and treatable with creams or lotions, it can cause severe itching. Experts are attributing the rise in diseases like measles, whooping cough, and scabies to poverty and declining vaccination rates. There were at least 320 people treated in hospital with scabies in the Yorkshire area alone in the year to March 2024, reports Yorkshire Live .
Other Victoria diseases which have reappeared more recently include measles. This has seen hospital visits resulting in a measles diagnosis increasing five-fold, with 2,305 visits last year. Measles typically begins with cold-like symptoms before developing into a rash.
However, if it spreads to the lungs or brain, it can lead to serious complications. This was the largest increase among any condition with at least 1,000 hospitalisations in England. Whooping cough cases have also surged, with a threefold increase to 1,696 diagnoses this year.
Gwen Nightingale, assistant director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation, has drawn attention to the connection between poverty and disease proliferation. She said: "Not having enough income to sustain a basic standard.
