Scabies alert in Italy: 750% surge in three years

The Italian Society of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (SIDEMAST) experts, with consideration to the National Congress Sidemast Special Edition 2025, arranged within the framework of the XIV International Congress of Dermatology in Rome from June 18 to 21, have expressed concern regarding the escalating incidence of scabies in Italy and other European nations. Recent research indicates that certain Italian regions have experienced increases in cases, reaching up to +750% between 2020 and 2023. Two Italian investigations, focusing on the Emilia Romagna and Lazio regions, provide evidence of the phenomenon’s spread. Specifically, a recent analysis published in Sexually Transmitted Infections emphasizes the rise in scabies cases in the city of Bologna during the period of 2020-2023. Furthermore, a study published this year in Infectious Diseases of Poverty has cautioned about a resurgence of post-Covid cases in the Lazio region, designating it as an ’emerging public health threat.’ Contributing factors identified include lockdown and isolation, frequently under precarious hygienic-sanitary circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic, overcrowding, mass tourism, and drug resistance. Specialists suggest that the development of resistance is primarily attributable to mutations within the mite, enabling it to counteract the drug’s active component. Initial indications of this phenomenon emerged in Germany between 2017 and 2018; currently, instances have also been recorded in Italy, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.