SALT LAKE CITY – Scabies treatments for 140 inmates in a housing unit of the Utah State Correctional Facility will temporarily close some areas to visitors and quarantine inmates in the infected unit.
One incarcerated individual in the Currant geriatric building unit has tested positive for scabies and is currently isolated. All other possible cases have tested negative, but because of the contagious nature of scabies, everyone in the two sections of the unit will be treated.
The unit, which houses geriatric and medically-dependent men in an open dormitory style with 4-bed pods, is on lockdown, and visitation is prohibited until treatment is completed. Restrictions are expected to be lifted by Monday, March 17.
Healthcare personnel with Correctional Health Services are providing treatment based on guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Clothing and bedding from those confirmed or suspected of being infected will be washed with a disinfectant solution, and other areas of the prison will be cleaned to prevent further spread. Inmates and staff will also receive education about the hygienic steps recommended by the CDC to protect themselves and others from scabies.
The current scabies case does not seem connected to ongoing issues with a skin rash on multiple units, which is not contagious. But that rash, possibly caused by laundry detergent, does make it more difficult to identify possible scabies cases without additional testing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash. The scabies mite is usually spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. More information is available from this CDC fact sheet.