Winterthur's toddler has scabies - then the family nightmare begins

A scabies mite under the microscope: An illness has serious consequences.
imago images/Ardea


Protective suits for the children, months of isolation for the family: a toddler in Winterthur suffers from scabies. This has consequences for the entire family.
No time? blue News summarizes it for you
Anna and Beat face an unexpected health crisis. At the end of August 2023, her six-month-old son Henrik developed some pimples on his foot. Initially thought to be a harmless heat rash, after two weeks a worrying finding emerged: scabies.

The rare disease is currently on the rise again. The number of illnesses has risen sharply in recent years, as blue News reported last week. Many cases start harmlessly but have serious consequences. The disease now becomes a challenge for the family of Anna and Beat, whose real names are different, and for society as a whole. They tell their story to the “Tages-Anzeiger”. They learn that they are supposed to smear Henrik's body with a cream. But this doesn't work. Instead, the twin sister also becomes infected. “Some of the little ones scratched themselves bloody. She must have been incredibly itchy,” says Anna. The consequences are serious. The treatment is difficult because many mite strains have become resistant to the cream commonly used. This leads to misdiagnosis and a rapid spread of the disease.


Scabies is a contagious, non-fatal skin disease caused by mites.
Henning Kaiser/dpa


The consequences are serious: Henrik and his siblings suffer from severe itching Sleep is affected and parents struggle with emotions. The situation escalates when other family members also become infected. It often takes several weeks from infection to the moment when the first symptoms become visible. Limiting it is therefore difficult.

The situation escalates when Henrik's skin crusts over and the next generation of mites thrives underneath. The infant, writes the “Tages-Anzeiger”, becomes a kind of super spreader. Because a doctor is wrong and the little one is sent back to daycare too early, scabies continues to spread there too. To this day it is not free of scabies.Gloves on contactFor Anna and Beat's family, the illness of a son means a profound change in their lifestyle. They spend ten weeks in isolation. If you encounter another family, you must wear protective gloves. The children have to wear protective suits at night. The family is now scabies-free - after around seven months. The three children no longer go to daycare today to prevent renewed infection. The children are still affected by the illnesses. Other families would ask if the children had rashes. A school in Winterthur has now also reported cases of scabies. The disease is definitely on the rise again.