Diagnosis of Scabies in Resource-Poor Settings

Clinical examination, by mid-level healthcare workers, is the mainstay of scabies diagnosis in resource poor-settings. The implementation of standardised diagnostic algorithms can achieve reasonable levels of sensitivity and specificity for both scabies and pyoderma but more work is required to validate these approaches. The International Alliance for the Control of Scabies consensus diagnostic criteria are likely to form the basis of a standardised approach to scabies diagnosis that can be used for public health control in resource-poor settings.