{"id":15881,"date":"2022-03-29T16:11:50","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T16:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies"},"modified":"2022-03-29T17:38:51","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T17:38:51","slug":"over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies","title":{"rendered":"Over 2 000 learners infected by scabies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>A scabies outbreak has forced children out of school and the Ohangwena regional health directorate scrambling to send a team of professionals to the schools.<\/p>\n

The region\u2019s 92 schools recorded 2 025 learners and four teachers as having been infected by scabies for the past two weeks across the 10 circuits in the region.<\/p>\n

The education director in Ohangwena, Isak Hamatwi, said scabies has a negative impact on learners as many cannot attend classes because they are still at home, waiting to recover from the condition.<\/p>\n

He added that some of the learners might have recovered, although they are still itching. The whole picture would thus be sketched when the Ministry of Health and Social Services visits the schools and advises appropriately.<\/p>\n

The Omataku Combined School recorded 120 learners infected with scabies, followed by the Twaalulilwa Primary School with 109 learners infected. Scabies in remote schools at villages is considered a huge challenge as many learners struggle to go to hospitals due to long distances, while some people lack information on where to get assistance.<\/p>\n

Hamatwi said his office reported the matter to the health directorate in the region for further medical assistance, and they are attending to the schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am urging schools to report learners with scabies immediately so that they can be sent home, and also to avoid the further spread,\u201d he added. Hamatwi then urged parents to give support to their children at home, and to seek assistance on the treatment of the disease.<\/p>\n

Also speaking to New Era, medical practitioner at the Windhoek Central Hospital Dr Laimi Ashipala said scabies is found worldwide, and affects people of all races and social classes. It can spread rapidly in crowded conditions where close body and skin contact is frequent, such as prisons, hostels and squatter camps.<\/p>\n

Ashipala said scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin, where it lives and lays its eggs.<\/p>\n

She explained the symptoms of scabies as intense itching (pruritus), especially at night, and a pimple-like (papular) skin rash. The itching and rash may affect the whole body or be limited to common sites such as the wrist, elbow, armpit, webbing between the fingers, nipple, penis, waist, belt-line and buttocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rash sometimes includes tiny blisters (vesicles) and scales. Scratching the rash can cause skin sores, and sometimes these sores become infected by bacteria. The head, face, neck, palms and soles are often involved in infants and very young children, but usually not adults and older children,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Persons with crusted scabies (Norwegian Scabies) may not show the usual signs and symptoms of scabies, such as the characteristic rash or itching (pruritus). Crusted scabies is a severe form that can occur in some persons who are immunocompromised (a weak immune system), elderly, disabled or debilitated. Persons with crusted scabies have thick crusts of skin that contain large numbers of scabies\u2019 mites and eggs. Persons with crusted scabies are very contagious and can spread the infestation easily, both by direct skin-to-skin contact and by contamination of items such as their clothing, bedding and furniture. Persons with crusted scabies should receive quick and aggressive medical treatment for their infestation to prevent outbreaks of scabies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. Scabies is spread easily to sexual partners and household members. Scabies sometimes is spread indirectly by sharing articles such as clothing, towels or bedding used by an infected person. Indirect spread can occur much more easily when the infested person has crusted scabies. A quick handshake or hug usually will not spread scabies,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n

Ashipala added that scabies mites can live for as long as one to two months on a person. Off a person, scabies mites usually do not survive more than 48 to 72 hours. They will die if exposed to a temperature of 50\u00b0C for at least 10 minutes. Scabicides to treat human scabies are available only with a doctor\u2019s prescription.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to the infested person, treatment also is recommended for household members and sexual contacts, particularly those who have had prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the infested person. All persons should be treated at the same time in order to prevent reinfestation. Retreatment may be necessary if itching continues more than two to four weeks after treatment, or if new burrows or rash continue to appear. Never use a scabicide intended for veterinary or agricultural use to treat humans,\u201d she urged.<\/p>\n

Health director in the Ohangwena region Johannes Hango said his office is organising a team of health workers to visit the affected schools as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware that schools are a lot, but we will try our best to render medical services to the schools and to ensure that learners are treated,\u201d he noted. Hango advised people to keep their blankets and clothes clean at all times, and to avoid sleeping in a crowded room.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. A scabies outbreak has forced children out of school and the Ohangwena regional health directorate scrambling to send a team of professionals to the schools. The region\u2019s 92 schools recorded 2 025 learners and four teachers as having been infected by scabies for the past two weeks across the 10 circuits in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,8,16],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-15881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nOver 2 000 learners infected by scabies - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A scabies outbreak has forced children out of school and the Ohangwena regional health directorate scrambling to send a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over 2 000 learners infected by scabies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A scabies outbreak has forced children out of school and the Ohangwena regional health directorate scrambling to send a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-29T16:11:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-29T17:38:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/03\/img-624343f9343fb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Over 2 000 learners infected by scabies\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-29T16:11:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-29T17:38:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\"},\"wordCount\":843,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/03\/img-624343f9343fb.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"culture and art\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/over-2-000-learners-infected-by-scabies\",\"name\":\"Over 2 000 learners infected by scabies - 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