Hundreds of people have been treated in hospital as a result of a rare skin condition prevalent in Victorian times. New NHS figures show an increase in diagnoses of scabies, a rash caused by tiny mites burrowing into the skin.
The figures show the number of infections are up by 66% across the country resulting in 5,661 primary and secondary diagnoses. Although typically not serious and treatable with creams or lotions, it can cause severe itching.
Experts are attributing the rise in diseases like measles, whooping cough, and scabies to poverty and declining vaccination rates. There were at least 320 people treated in hospital with scabies in the Yorkshire area alone in the year to March 2024, reports Yorkshire Live.
Other Victoria diseases which have reappeared more recently include measles. This has seen hospital visits resulting in a measles diagnosis increasing five-fold, with 2,305 visits last year.
Measles typically begins with cold-like symptoms before developing into a rash. However, if it spreads to the lungs or brain, it can lead to serious complications. This was the largest increase among any condition with at least 1,000 hospitalisations in England.
Whooping cough cases have also surged, with a threefold increase to 1,696 diagnoses this year. Gwen Nightingale, assistant director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation, has drawn attention to the connection between poverty and disease proliferation.
She said: “Not having enough income to sustain a basic standard of living can have a negative impact on health, through factors like cold, damp homes or an inability to access healthy foods. The stress of living on a low income can also negatively impact health.
“The Government has a choice as to whether it wants to perpetuate the current numbers of families living in poverty.”
She is urging the government to ensure that people have adequate incomes, quality affordable housing, and access to green spaces to combat these diseases.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Service Authority has sounded the alarm over a rise in measles hospitalisations, which could signal a drop in vaccination rates. A spokesperson warned: “In addition to measles, many children are also missing out on protection against other serious diseases, including whooping cough, meningitis, diphtheria and polio. It is especially tragic to see kids suffer when these diseases are so easily preventable.”
Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccination and screening, shared his apprehensions: “These worrying figures highlight that too many children are still not fully protected against diseases like measles and whooping cough, which can cause serious illness but are preventable.”
He emphasised the importance of immunisation by adding, “Vaccines are parents’ best defence against these illnesses that’s why the NHS offers them free, saving thousands of lives and preventing tens of thousands of hospital admissions every year.”
Mr Russell urged parents to check their child’s vaccination status and to get in touch with their GP to arrange a jab if needed.