Norwegian scabies: etiological grounds
Chouvet, B.; Ortonne, J.P.; Perrot, H.; Thivolet, J.
Annales de Dermatologie et de Venereologie 106(6-7): 569-574
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0151-9638 PMID: 159655 Document Number: 154104
Norwegian scabies is a rare clinical variant of human infestation with Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis characterized by hyperkeratotic lesions of the palmar and plantar surfaces, scalp and ears. Three cases are presented: the 1st one in an old debilitated woman with von Recklinghausen's disease, another in a boy with Down's syndrome and the last in a child treated with immunosuppressant drugs. A review of the literature and a study of etiological factors in Norwegian scabies was undertaken. The pathogenesis of Norwegian scabies is as of yet unclear but altered host factors seem to be the principal determinant. A primary or secondary immunologic deficit, the inability to eliminate mites by scratching, or a hereditary predispostion to keratotic reactions of the skin may result in increased subsceptibility to S. scabiei infestation.