The Relationship Between Personal Hygiene and Scabies Incidence in the Sungai Bilu Health Center Service Area in 2024

Scabies, a highly contagious dermatosis caused by The extremely contagious dermatosis caused by Sarcoptes scabies mite, is a global health issue, especially in tropical and underdeveloped countries. Scabies cases have increased from 18 in 2021 to 242 in 2022 in the Sungai Bilu Health Center's service area in Banjarmasin, Indonesia, highlighting the need for targeted study and intervention. This study compares urban scabies rates to personal hygiene. From February to May 2024, 68 persons (34 cases and 34 controls) participated in the observational analytic case-control study. Primary sources were questionnaires and direct observations, whereas secondary sources were medical records. Cleanliness habits and scabies occurrence were examined using chi-square testing and odds ratio estimates. Scabies prevalence was strongly correlated with hand and nail hygiene (p = 0.004) and bed and bedsheet cleanliness (p = 0.000). Poor hand and nail cleanliness increased scabies risk by 15.783 times, and poor bed hygiene increased it by 25.84 times. Contrary to previous studies, bathing and towel hygiene did not affect scabies cases (p = 0.054 and 0.614, respectively). The findings emphasize the complexity of urban scabies prevention and the need for hygiene. The study shows that community health interventions in Sungai Bilu must focus on hand, nail, and bed hygiene to reduce scabies transmission while maintaining general good hygiene habits.