São Tomé das Letras is the 17th city to confirm cases of human scabies in the south of Minas

São Tomé das Letras is the 17th city to confirm cases of scabies in the south of Minas (see list below). The projection is that more than 500 people have been infected.

Alfenas was the first municipality to confirm cases at the end of August. It is also the place with the most cases, totaling more than 330 infected people. According to the municipality's Epidemiological Surveillance, the outbreak has already been controlled and the most affected were children up to five years old, who stay in Municipal Early Childhood Education Centers (Cemeis).

Scabies is not subject to compulsory individual notification, that is, city halls are not obliged to inform the State of each registered case. Even so, according to SES-MG, in 2026, 11 outbreaks were officially reported in municipalities in Minas Gerais by the beginning of November. Five of them are in the south of Minas: Alfenas, Andradas, Campos Gerais, Lavras and Paraguaçu.

Human scabies is caused by a mite. Transmission occurs mainly through direct and prolonged skin-to-skin contact or sharing objects, such as bedding and clothing. It causes itching and small lesions, especially between the fingers, wrists, armpits, elbows, waist, genital region and nipples.

To control the disease, it is important that the contamination cycle is broken. According to epidemiologist Sinézio Inácio da Silva Junior, professor at the Federal University of Alfenas (Unifal-MG), treatment must be carried out with the entire family of the diagnosed case.

"The treatment is for oral use: ivemerctin, in addition to the use of permethrin, as a lotion on the body, and it must be done with the diagnosed case and with all family members of the people who have contact with that case. Then, care with the hygiene of clothes, objects that people use, which must be subjected to heat", said the specialist.

He recommends ironing your clothes or leaving them stored for about a week, sealed in a plastic bag to combat dust mites.

The infectious disease specialist also advises you to apply the body lotion again after a week to combat possible mite eggs that were not eliminated in the first few applications, especially in the area of ​​the nails, armpits, between the fingers and in the folds of the body.