GC: n
S: WHO – https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/scabies (last access: 19 April 2024); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544306/ (last access: 19 April 2024).
N: 1. scabies (n.): skin disease, “the itch,” c.1400, from Latin scabies “mange, itch, roughness,” from scabere “to scratch, scrape,” from PIE root *(s)kep-, a base forming words meaning “to cut, scrape, hack” (cognates: Gothic scaban, Old English sceafan “to scrape, shave;” Greek skaptein “to dig;” “Old Church Slavonic skobli “scraper;” Lithuanian skabus “sharp,” skabeti “to cut;” Lettish skabrs “splintery, sharp”). Related: Scabious.
2. Scabies, also called sarcoptic itch, is a skin inflammation accompanied by severe nighttime itching caused by the itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). The mite passes from person to person by close contact. Scabies is characteristically a disease of wartime, for living standards then drop, washing may be difficult, and people may be crowded together. The disease also afflicts many schoolchildren and residents of nursing homes, with periodic epidemics occurring even among persons with strict habits of hygiene and adequate living conditions.
3. The fertilized female mite burrows into the skin, depositing eggs in the tunnel behind her. After the eggs are hatched, larvae migrate to the skin surface and eventually change into the adult form. Mating occurs on the skin surface. An adult mite can live up to about a month on a person. Once away from the human body, mites only survive 48-72 hours. The characteristic itchy rash of scabies is an allergic response to the mite. Individuals who are infested with scabies for the first time typically experience symptoms after 4 to 6 weeks. With subsequent infestation, symptoms appear within days.
4. Plant Diseases: scab. [A plant disease] caused by fungi or bacteria and resulting in crustlike spots on fruit, leaves, or roots.
5. Animal Diseases: mange. A cutaneous disease of domestic and wild animals caused by any one of several genera of skin-burrowing mites.
6. In humans, mite infestations are usually referred to as scabies.
S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=scabies&searchmode=none (last access: 5 September 2014). 2. EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/526234/scabies (last access: 14 November 2013). 3. WHO – http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/scabies/en/ (last access: 14 November 2013). 4 to 6. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=gale&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 19 April 2024).
SYN: 1. seven-year itch (in humans), sarcoptic mange (in other animals). 2. sarcoptic itch.
S: 1. DORLAND p. 1671. 2. EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/526234/scabies (last access: 14 November 2013).
CR: infestation, mite, parasitosis, pruritus.
