Anderson Rebecca F, Bauro Temea, Lake Susanna J, Tikataake Marou, Parnaby Matthew, Hill Jeremy, Tong-Kaunibwe Tanebu J, Grobler Anneke C, Kirition Revite, Steer Andrew C
Tropical Diseases Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services, South Tarawa, Kiribati.
Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2025 Jul 12;60:101636. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101636. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Scabies is a treatable neglected tropical disease with a high burden in Pacific island countries. Scabies is strongly associated with bacterial skin infection, which can lead to long-term sequelae. There is a paucity of epidemiologic data from Kiribati relating to scabies and bacterial skin infection.
We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey over three weeks in November 2023 to determine the national prevalence of scabies and bacterial skin infection. Participants were recruited from ten evaluation units across all five divisions of Kiribati, including several outer islands from different island groups. All residents of visited households were eligible to participate. Trained nurses conducted clinical assessments, including focused clinical history and skin examination, for scabies and/or bacterial skin infection. Diagnosis of scabies was based on the 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies diagnostic criteria. Assessment of 10,515 participants was completed. We calculated weighted prevalence, risk ratio (RR), and risk difference (RD), with 95% confidence intervals (CI), for scabies and bacterial skin infection, accounting for clustering by household.
The overall weighted prevalence of scabies was 24.9% (95% CI 22.3-27.8). The highest prevalence was observed among infants aged less than 1 year at 47.2% (95% CI 40.8-53.7). Scabies was classified as moderate to severe in 64.9% (95% CI 59.1-70.2) of cases. The overall prevalence of bacterial skin infection was 7.9% (95% CI 6.8-9.2). The population attributable fraction of bacterial skin infection associated with scabies was 79.5% (95% CI 76.4-82.6).
Our findings highlight the high burden of scabies and bacterial skin infection in Kiribati and the need for public health action to reduce the impact of both conditions.
The study was funded by the Cameron Foundation (Australia) and the World Scabies Program, Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
疥疮是一种可治疗的被忽视热带病，在太平洋岛国负担沉重。疥疮与细菌性皮肤感染密切相关，后者可导致长期后遗症。基里巴斯缺乏关于疥疮和细菌性皮肤感染的流行病学数据。
我们于2023年11月进行了为期三周的基于社区的横断面调查，以确定全国疥疮和细菌性皮肤感染的患病率。参与者从基里巴斯所有五个行政区的十个评估单位招募，包括来自不同岛屿组的几个外岛。受访家庭的所有居民均有资格参与。经过培训的护士对疥疮和/或细菌性皮肤感染进行临床评估，包括重点临床病史和皮肤检查。疥疮的诊断基于2020年国际疥疮控制联盟的诊断标准。完成了对10515名参与者的评估。我们计算了疥疮和细菌性皮肤感染的加权患病率、风险比（RR）和风险差（RD），并给出95%置信区间（CI），同时考虑了家庭聚类情况。
疥疮的总体加权患病率为24.9%（95%CI 22.3 - 27.8）。1岁以下婴儿的患病率最高，为47.2%（95%CI 40.8 - 53.7）。64.9%（95%CI 59.1 - 70.2）的病例疥疮被分类为中度至重度。细菌性皮肤感染的总体患病率为7.9%（95%CI 6.8 - 9.2）。与疥疮相关的细菌性皮肤感染的人群归因分数为79.5%（95%CI 76.4 - 82.6）。
我们的研究结果凸显了基里巴斯疥疮和细菌性皮肤感染的高负担，以及采取公共卫生行动以减轻这两种疾病影响的必要性。
该研究由卡梅伦基金会（澳大利亚）和默多克儿童研究所世界疥疮项目资助。
