Scabies is best characterized as a condition of the skin that is due to an infestation of a tiny Scarcoptes scabiei mite. Intense itching will ensue at the burrowing site of the mites. Scabies can be especially contagious as it can be passed from host to host via physical contact. While scabies is a very treatable condition with medications and not life threatening, it can be a big problem for places such as child care facilities, nursing homes, schools, and prisons.
Information. The mites that cause scabies actually reside on the skin and can occupy it for anywhere up to 60 days. An intensely itchy rash like skin irritation that resembles clusters of pimples is formed from where the mites breed and hatch on the skins surface, and then burrow under the skin in order to lay more eggs. Very similar to lice, scabies can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact or through bedding, towels, or clothing that has been infested by an infected host. Surprisingly, scabies can have an incubation period of anywhere between 4 to 8 weeks, meaning that symptoms would take that long to manifest after initial exposure to scabies.
