Understanding Scabies and Lice

Scabies and lice are two highly-contagious parasitic diseases that affect millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Both have significant health risks, with medical, social, and economic consequences that are estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Proper diagnosis of scabies and lice can be difficult, and management is often challenging. While multiple treatments are available, none are 100% effective and some patients are unable to tolerate first-line scabies and lice medications because of allergies or adverse side effects. Moreover, resistance of scabies and lice to one medication or another has been increasing, which further limits the number of effective treatments available to patients. Thus, a range of treatment options is needed to effectively minimize the individual and collective impact of these diseases on our public health.