The Itch: Scabies

Scabies is a parasitic disease caused by the human itch mite Sarcoptes  scabiei, which burrows through the skin leading to an intensely itchy  rash. The scabies mite, which is just smaller than can be visualized by  the naked eye (to most), mates and lays eggs in the human skin which  hatch and mature, thereby propagating its life cycle.

A  diagnosis of scabies causes many patients anxiety and consternation. The  Itch: Scabies details the essential clinic details of scabies - what it  is, how to diagnose it, how to treat it, and examines common pitfalls  in its recognition and cure. The methods of transmission of scabies and  its level of contagiousness are also discussed in detail. Accounts of  scabies date back to antiquity; this book reveals a history which is  replete with medical and scientific missteps. The scabies mite was in  fact the first infectious organism to ever be discovered, which  represents a underrecognized landmark in the development of modern  medicine. In spite of this, however, because it cannot be easily studied  in the lab, our current knowledge of scabies is somewhat limited. Much  of our current clinical understanding of scabies derives from a most  unusual set of human experiments performed on conscientious objectors by  Kenneth Mellanby in Britain during World War II.

Through its  use of clinical vignettes and images, this book brings the fascinating  story of scabies to light and will be of interest to medical  practitioners, historians of medicine, and the general public alike.