Scabies outbreak at Kettering hospital: What you need to know?

Kettering Medical Center is undergoing a building-wide decontamination after at least 86 employees at the hospital and one patient were diagnosed and treated for scabies — a contagious skin infestation transmitted by the human itch mite.

The infestation was first detected at the hospital at 3535 Southern Blvd. in Kettering a couple of weeks ago and traced back to single patient, according to hospital officials, who said no other patients had shown symptoms of infection as of Monday. Infected workers, including nurses and other medical staff, were being kept away from the hospital until they were no longer contagious.

RELATED: Scabies outbreak at Kettering Medical Center

What to know about scabies:

1. Scabies (pronounced skay-bees), is sometimes referred to as the seven-year itch because it causes intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash, which result from tiny parasites known as itch mites burrowing into the skin to lay eggs, causing an allergic reaction in the host.

2. Scabies is most often spread by prolonged skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies and is most commonly transmitted by sexual partners.

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