Victorian disease leaves hundreds needing hospital treatment as UK cases surge

Woman scratching a rash
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


Hundreds of people have needed treatment in hospital for a skin condition common in Victorian times. NHS figures revealed a rise in the number of people being diagnosed with scabies, a rash caused by tiny mites burrowing into the skin.

Data shows the number of infections are up by 66% across the country with 5,661 primary and secondary diagnoses. While scabies is usually not serious and treatable with creams or lotions, it can be very itchy.

Experts are attributing the rise in diseases like measles, whooping cough, and scabies to poverty and declining vaccination rates. There were at least 320 people treated in hospital with scabies in the Yorkshire area alone in the year to March 2024, reports Yorkshire Live.

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Other Victoria diseases which have reappeared over recent years include measles which has led to 2,305 hospital visits resulting in a measles diagnosis. This is a five-fold increase and led to at least 1,000 people being admitted in England.

Measles usually start with cold-like symptoms before developing into a rash. However, if it spreads to the lungs or brain, it can lead to serious complications.

Whooping coughhas also seen a sharp increase in cases. It has had a threefold increase to 1,696 diagnoses this year.

Gwen Nightingale, assistant director of Healthy Lives at the Health Foundation, has drawn attention to the connection between poverty and disease proliferation. She said: "Not having enough income to sustain a basic standard of living can have a negative impact on health, through factors like cold, damp homes or an inability to access healthy foods.

"The stress of living on a low income can also negatively impact health. The Government has a choice as to whether it wants to perpetuate the current numbers of families living in poverty." She has called on the government to make sure people have adequate incomes, quality affordable housing, and access to green spaces to combat these diseases.

The UK Health Service Authority has also sounded the alarm over an increase in measles hospitalisations, which could signal a drop in vaccination rates. A spokesperson warned: "In addition to measles, many children are also missing out on protection against other serious diseases, including whooping cough, meningitis, diphtheria and polio. It is especially tragic to see kids suffer when these diseases are so easily preventable."

Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccination and screening, shared his concerns saying: "These worrying figures highlight that too many children are still not fully protected against diseases like measles and whooping cough, which can cause serious illness but are preventable."

He added: "Vaccines are parents' best defence against these illnesses that's why the NHS offers them free, saving thousands of lives and preventing tens of thousands of hospital admissions every year."

Mr Russell urged parents to check their child's vaccination status and to get in touch with their GP to arrange one if needed.