Nile University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan.
Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Wytemaweg 80 3015 CN, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Jan 19;116(1):4-9. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trab049.
Scabies is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) of the skin that is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It is considered to be an important public health problem in many regions. The disease is at its most prevalent in low-resource countries where there are overcrowded living conditions coupled with poor hygiene. In some regions, mass drug administration using ivermectin is a key population-based approach to the control of scabies. Before starting a patient on specific treatment, confirming the diagnosis by accurate and rapid identification of the organism is critical. Different laboratory-based techniques for scabies have been developed in the last few decades. These include direct microscopy and histopathology. More recently, serological testing, dermoscopy and different molecular techniques have been developed as diagnostic methods for scabies. To date, none of these, apart from microscopy and dermoscopy, has been translated into routine clinical laboratory practice. A simple point-of-care or laboratory test would provide a rapid and confirmed diagnosis and early institution of effective treatment. In this review we present an update on the laboratory techniques currently in use for the identification of scabies.
疥疮是一种由疥螨引起的皮肤热带病（NTD），被认为是许多地区的一个重要公共卫生问题。这种疾病在资源匮乏的国家最为普遍，这些国家居住条件拥挤，卫生条件差。在一些地区，使用伊维菌素进行大规模药物治疗是控制疥疮的一种重要的基于人群的方法。在开始对患者进行具体治疗之前，通过准确、快速地识别病原体来确认诊断是至关重要的。在过去几十年中，已经开发出了许多基于实验室的疥疮检测技术，包括直接显微镜检查和组织病理学检查。最近，血清学检测、皮肤镜检查和不同的分子技术也被开发为疥疮的诊断方法。到目前为止，除了显微镜检查和皮肤镜检查外，这些方法都没有转化为常规的临床实验室实践。一种简单的即时或实验室检测方法将提供快速和明确的诊断，并能及早进行有效的治疗。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了目前用于鉴定疥疮的实验室技术的最新进展。
