Treating Contacts

It is important to treat all possible contacts simultaneously. Re-infestation is one of the most common causes for the disease to persist. These would include people who share the same living space or are in close contact with each other.

The first symptoms of scabies occur four to six weeks after contact. This increases the risk of spreading the disease unnoticed as people become infested without being aware. Symptoms occur much sooner in a person who has had scabies before.

Treatment for these contacts is the standard treatment with permethrin 5%, as with people with symptoms. Permethrin 5% is the WHO drug of choice for the treatment of scabies.