Cropley Thomas G
Division of Dermatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Aug;55(2):302-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2006.04.030.
The army itch was a chronic, severely pruritic dermatosis which first appeared among soldiers and some civilians early in the American Civil War (1861-1865). As the war progressed, so did army itch, becoming epidemic in the Potomac Valley of Maryland in 1862 and in Virginia in 1864. Immediately after the war, civilian cases traceable to contact with returning soldiers focused attention on the disorder, but the postwar outbreaks were short-lived and the army itch disappeared by the end of 1867. The origin of army itch eluded medical observers of the time, though many considered epidemic scabies to be the cause. Many cases of army itch were successfully treated with scabicides, but the disease had a well-deserved reputation for intractability. After a review of the chronology of army itch and excerpts from the writings of physicians who saw and treated the disease, it is possible to conclude that army itch was epidemic scabies, though the clinical picture was frequently confounded by coexisting pediculosis, prurigo, and other pruritic dermatoses.
“军队瘙痒症”是一种慢性、剧痒性皮肤病，最早出现在美国内战（1861 - 1865年）初期的士兵和一些平民中。随着战争的推进，“军队瘙痒症”也在蔓延，1862年在马里兰州的波托马克河谷以及1864年在弗吉尼亚州流行开来。战后，可追溯到与返乡士兵接触而引发的平民病例引起了人们对这种疾病的关注，但战后的疫情爆发是短暂的，到1867年底“军队瘙痒症”就消失了。当时的医学观察家们并不清楚“军队瘙痒症”的病因，尽管许多人认为是流行性疥疮所致。许多“军队瘙痒症”病例通过使用杀疥虫剂得到了成功治疗，但这种疾病因难以治愈而声名远扬。在回顾了“军队瘙痒症”的发病时间顺序以及看过和治疗过这种疾病的医生著作中的摘录后，可以得出结论，“军队瘙痒症”就是流行性疥疮，尽管其临床表现常常因同时存在的虱病、痒疹和其他瘙痒性皮肤病而变得复杂。
