In the past few months, the number of people infected with scabies has risen sharply in the Netherlands, as well as in Groningen. Scabies is a skin disease caused by a spider-like creature that crawls under the skin. There the animal lays its eggs and urinates and excretes, causing the infected person to itch intensely.
The disease mainly affects young people, which means that Groningen as a student city has many cases.
GGD Groningen also noted that scabs became more prominent. The number of questions they receive daily about the disease has increased dramatically compared to last year.
People find it difficult to talk about the disease because there is a taboo on this topic. Infectious disease control doctor Sofik Hofmann from the GGD believes this is not justified: “Anyone can get scabies. In fact, it is very important to talk about it in order to inform others so that they can start treatment if they come into contact.
Anyone can already have scabies before they show any symptoms, so it is essential that this is a topic that can be discussed.
If you have an infection, it is best to go to the doctor as soon as possible.
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