Physicians around the globe are seeing cases of scabies in quantities which suggest that we are experiencing an epidemic of this disease. Such levels of scabies have recurred about every thirty years, and can b~ more frequent in crowded or unsanitary living conditions. The itch mite is a human parasite and, like lice, cannot survive if detached from a host body for more than a few days. Symptoms normally don't appear for several weeks after the onset of infestation, during which time the host gradually becomes sensitive to the mite.
The female mite burrows under the most superficial layer of the skin. Within this tunnel, she lays numerous eggs, from which are hatched larvae which scurry across the skin looking for other mites or places to burrow. The life cycle of the mite is about 30 days.
