Causes of Scabies

A tiny mite, called Sarcoptes scabiei, which barely be seen by the naked eye, causes scabies. It possibly can appear as a small white dot. The scabies mite causes intense itching. One can get scabies from touching something or someone that is mite affected. Generally, scabies transmitted through skin-to-skin contact and rarely from objects such as clothing or bedding.

Scabies spreads rapidly in crowded conditions and in situations where there is a lot of close contact like boarding schools, child-care centers or nursing homes. Usually mites can survive no longer than 2 days when not in contact with a human. People with scabies experience severe and continuous itching specially at night.