Scabies outbreak contained at Charlottetown nursing home

Two patients at Atlantic Baptist Housing's Centennial Court nursing home in Charlottetown have tested positive for scabies. 

Scabies is a fairly common infection caused by tiny insects called mites that burrow under skin and lay eggs. It can cause lesions under armpits and on genitals, with intense itching. It is contagious, usually transferred by prolonged skin-to-skin contact.

"We had a family member come forward about a concern that there might be possible scabies," said Samantha Thorpe, administrator and director of care at the home.

"We did do some [skin] scrapings, and at that point in time the lab did confirm we had one resident, first. And then the second scraping came back [positive]." 

The home has two interconnecting dementia units. The two patients were in one of the units. 

The home decided to treat all residents on both dementia units for scabies, as some staff work on both units. 

Visiting closed for 5 days

Thorpe said they've done additional testing on residents that were experiencing some symptoms, but the tests came back negative. Those residents have since been treated for other skin conditions, she said. 

"We have locked everything down very rapidly, we have treated all the residents, everything has been cleaned with proper protocols with housekeeping, with laundry," she said.

"We don't feel like this has spread to any of the other sections of the home." 

Staff who may have been exposed are being treated as a precaution, Thorpe said. 

Families were notified and no visitors have been allowed since last Sunday, to avoid any further transmission.

Thorpe said they hope to reopen to visitors Friday. They do not know where the scabies originated. 

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