Norwegian scabies: the realities of our time

Sokolova T.V.; Maliarchuk A.P.; Eltsova N.V.; Khamitsaeva I.R.; Yuryeva E.O.; Travkina I.A.

doi:https://doi.org/10.17116/klinderma20201901164

Sokolova T.V.

State Institute of Advanced Medical Training, Russian Ministry of Defense

SPIN RSCI: 6402-9066
Scopus AuthorID: 57213089279
ORCID: 0000-0003-3573-0874

Maliarchuk A.P.

State Institute of Advanced Medical Training, Russian Ministry of Defense

Eltsova N.V.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Khamitsaeva I.R.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Yuryeva E.O.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Travkina I.A.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Norwegian scabies: the realities of our time

Authors:

Sokolova T.V., Maliarchuk A.P., Eltsova N.V., Khamitsaeva I.R., Yuryeva E.O., Travkina I.A.

More about the authors

Journal: Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology. 2020;19(1): 64‑74

DOI: 10.17116/klinderma20201901164

Read: 26991 times

To cite this article:

Sokolova TV, Maliarchuk AP, Eltsova NV, Khamitsaeva IR, Yuryeva EO, Travkina IA. Norwegian scabies: the realities of our time. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology. 2020;19(1):64‑74. (In Russ., In Engl.)
https://doi.org/10.17116/klinderma20201901164

Подписка 2026 Клиническая дерматология и венерология (Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology)

Использование инфографики авторами научных работ

Close metadata

Recommended articles:

Modern methods of treatment of latent form of HPV infection: clinical observation. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology. 2025;(4):425-429

From atopy to infection — a clinical case of combined skin pathology. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology. 2025;(4):430-436

Prospects for the use of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of resistant forms of onychomycosis. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology. 2026;(1):90-94

Abstract:

Relevance. Over the past 20 years, 48 cases of Norwegian scabies are described in the literature in Russia. A survey of 319 dermatologists in Russia indicates that it was met in practice by a third of specialists. The disease is most often recorded in neuropsychiatric hospital patients. The main diagnostic criteria for Norwegian scabies, systematized earlier in the monographs Scabies (1989), Parasitic Dermatoses: Scabies and Rat Tick Dermatitis (2003) and Scabies (2018), are supplemented with new data. A new case of Norwegian scabies in a patient with senile dementia is described. Study purpose: to increase the awareness of doctors about the frequency of registration and the peculiarities of the course of Norwegian scabies in Russia based on literature and our own clinical observations. Material and methods. Systematized data from scientific publications on Norwegian scabies over the past 20 years. Summarized the material of multi-year own studies. For the selection of literature used the Internet search engines Google Scholar, Cyberleninka, eLibrary, Sigla. Results. Dermatovenerologists in Russian Federation described 48 cases of Norwegian scabies. Of the 32 patients in the Sverdlovsk region, 78% lived in neuropsychiatric care home and asylum. Revealed for the first time 3 cases of reinfection. Currently, Norwegian scabies develops in patients with comorbid pathology. Described 15 diagnostic criteria for Norwegian scabies. Their practical application will make it possible to avoid diagnostic errors. Conclusion. Norwegian scabies is not a rare disease that occurs against the background of comorbid pathology. The main diagnostic criteria are scabietic burrows and crusts, the additional one is erythroderma. The treatment is long and based on a combination of scabicides and keratolytic drugs. The effectiveness of therapy is assessed by the dynamics of the clinic of the disease and laboratory (death of the mites). The presence of morphologically unchanged mites and eggs indicates the need for continued treatment with scabicides.

Keywords:

Norwegian scabies

cases in Russia

features of the course

clinical observation

Authors:

Sokolova T.V.

State Institute of Advanced Medical Training, Russian Ministry of Defense

SPIN RSCI: 6402-9066
Scopus AuthorID: 57213089279
ORCID: 0000-0003-3573-0874

Maliarchuk A.P.

State Institute of Advanced Medical Training, Russian Ministry of Defense

Eltsova N.V.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Khamitsaeva I.R.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Yuryeva E.O.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Travkina I.A.

Podolsk Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic, Moscow region, Podolsk, Russia

Close metadata

References:

Rufli T, Mumcuoglu Y. Sarcoptidae. Praxis. 1981;70(10):414-429.
Lesnitsky AI, Veretelnik AV, Lesnitsky AA, Didenko AA, Kravchuk AN. Two cases of Norwegian scabies. Dermatovenerol. Kosmetol. Seksopatol. 2006;3-4(9):214-217. (In Russ.)
Malyarchuk AP, Gladko VV, Sokolova TV. Assessment of the implementation of the MoH order No 162 of 24.04.03 «About the approval of the industry standard «Treatment protocol. Scabies»» by dermatovenerological service in Russia. Immunopatol allergol infektol. 2015;2:62-70. (In Russ.)
Udzhukhu VYu, Korotky NG, Tikhomirov AA. Norwegian scabies: pathogenesis, clinic and treatment options. Sovr probl dermatovenerol immunol vracheb kosmetol. 2010;4:48-50. (In Russ.)
Kryazheva SS, Snarskaya ES, Sukhova TE. Norwegian scabies. Ros zhurn kozh ven bol. 2011;1:53-55. (In Russ.)
Potekaev NN, Grebenyuk VN, Stoyanova GN, Kuleshov AN. Norwegian scabies complicated by pyoderma. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology = Klinicheskaya dermatologiya i venerologiya. 2014;12(2):41-45. (In Russ.)
Raznatovsky KI, Smirnova ON, Karyakina LA, Piryatinskaya VA, Gribanova TV, Lalaeva AM. Norwegian scabies: a case study. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology = Klinicheskaya dermatologiya i venerologiya. 2015;14(2):35-37. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17116/klinderma201514235-37
Smirnova TS, Dudko VYu, Piryatinskaya AB, Petunova YaG, Malkova LM. Features of the incidence of scabies at the present stage. Materialy II Mezhdistsiplinarnoj nauchno-prakticheskoj konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem «Infektsii i protivoinfektsionnyj kontrol’ v dermatologii». M. 2018;2:47. (In Russ.)
Minullin IL, Mikeshina AV, Safina FG, Bildyuk EB. Norwegian scabies. Kazan med zhurn. 2002;1:35-37. (In Russ.)
Nekhamkin PB, Sarafanova EA, Koryukina EB. Cases of Norwegian scabies in the Sverdlovsk region. Mezhregional’naya nauchno-prakticheskaya konferentsiya dermatovenerologov. Ekaterinburg; 2005:34-36. (In Russ.)
Kungurov NV, Syrneva TA, Koryukina EB. Atypical and rare forms of scabies. Vestnik dermatologii i venerologii. 2009;1:75-80. (In Russ.)
Syrneva TA, Koryukina E.B. Norway itch: current clinical features, methods of therapy and prophylaxis. Russian Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Venereology = Klinicheskaya dermatologiya i venerologiya. 2012;10(2):124-127. (In Russ.)
Pisklakova TP. A case of Norwegian scabies in a female patient with chronic lymphatic leukemia. Ros zhurn kozh ven bol. 2007;2:50-52. (In Russ.)
Drozhdina MB, Koshkin SV, Boyarintseva GG. Iutinsky E.M. A case of Norvegian (cortical) scabies. Permskij meditsinskij zhurnal. 2014;XXXIII(5): 102-105. (In Russ.)
Drozhdina MB, Koshkin SV. A modern view of the clinic, diagnosis and treatment of norwegian scabies. Immunopatol allergol infektol. 2015;2:55-61. (In Russ.)
Koshkin SV, Evseeva AL, Chermnykh TV, Minaeva NV, Zaitseva GA. A clinical case of norvegian scabies in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Vestn dermatol venerol. 2018;94(2):57-62. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25208/0042-4609-2018-94-2-57-62
Dubensky VV, Fokina RA, Arefyeva OS, Kovbas IS. Norwegian scabies. Ros zhurn kozh ven bol. 2014;3:12-14. (In Russ.)
Tereshchenko VN, Sormolotova IN, Tertyshnikova VS, Ivanova NM, Turkova AG, Gasparyan MA. A clinical case of Norwegian scabies. Zabajkal med zhurn. 2016;1:37-38. (In Russ.)
Furuya K, Nakajima1 H, Sasaki J, Ishiko A, Urita Y. A scabies outbreak in a diabetic and collagen disease ward: Management and prevention. Experiment Therapeut Med. 2016;2:3711-3715.
Sokolova TV, Fedorovskaya RF, Lange AB. Chesotka. M. 1989. (In Russ.)
Sokolova TV, Lopatina YuV. Parazitarnye dermatozy: chesotka i krysinyj kleshchevoj dermatit. M. 2003. (In Russ.)
Sokolova TV, Malyarchuk AP. Chesotka. Posobie s atlasom. M. 2018. (In Russ.)
Del Borgo C, Belvisi V, Tieghi1 T, Mastroiann CM. Atypical presentation of crusted (Norwegian) scabies. Infection. 2015;43:623-624.
Yelamos O, Mir-Bonafe JF, Lopez-Ferrer A, Garcia-Muret MP, Alegre M, Puig L. Crusted (Norwegian) scabies: an under-recognized infestation characterized by an atypical presentation and delayed diagnosis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.12867
Sokolova TV, Malyarchuk AP, Lopatina YuV. Scabiotic erythroderma. Ros zhurn kozh ven bol. 2014;3:15-22. (In Russ.)
Wang CH, Lee SC, Huang SS, Kao YC, See LC, Yang SH. Risk factors for scabies in Taiwan. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2012;45:276280.
Sokolova TV, Malyarchuk AP, Lopatina YuV, Vazhbin LB, Shuvalova TM, Nefedova ED. The problem of scabies in mental asylums. Ros zhurn kozh ven bol. 2012;6:52-57. (In Russ.)
Federal’nye klinicheskie rekomendatsii. Dermatovenerologiya 2015: Bolezni kozhi, infektsii, peredavaemye polovym putem. 5-e izdanie, pererabotannoe i dopolnennoe. M. 2016:598-615. (In Russ.)
Sokolova TV, Adaskevich VP, Malyarchuk AP, Lopatina YuV. Scabious erythroderma — a rare clinical variant of scabies. Our Dermatol Online. 2018;9(4):355-362. https://doi.org/10.7241/ourd.20184.1
Kutlu NS, Turan E, Erdemir A, Gürel MS, Bozkurt E. Eleven Years of Itching: A Case Report of Crusted Scabies. Cutis. 2014;94(2):86-88.
Dressler C, Rosumeck S, Sunderkotter C, Niklas Werner R, Nast A. The treatment of scabies a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(45):757-762.