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Scabies - Management
What advice should I give on exclusion from crèche, school or work?
- Children and adults can return to school or work after the first application of treatment has been completed.
Basis for recommendation
- This recommendation is based on expert advice from the Health Protection Agency [HPA, 2005; HPA, 2006].
- Transmission ceases after the first treatment has been applied [Figueroa, 1998].
- A systematic review of the literature was carried out to determine the incubation periods, periods of infectiousness, and exclusion policies for the control of 41 communicable diseases including scabies, in school and preschools in the UK. A Medline search was carried out between 1966 and 1998. Three papers were found on scabies and it was concluded that:
- The risk of transmission was low (moderate in families).
- The exclusion period should be until treated.
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