Crusted scabies in northern and central Australia — now is the time for eradication

There are very high rates of crusted scabies in remote Indigenous Australian communities, which is an important driver in skin infections and consequent illnesses, such as invasive streptococcal and staphylococcal sepsis, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis and acute rheumatic fever.1,2 Patients with crusted scabies serve as sentinels that drive ongoing community infection. In order to understand the associated factors and movement patterns of patients with crusted scabies, we audited all the cases of patients presenting to Katherine Hospital.