Special school to close for three days due to scabies outbreak

A County Tyrone special school is to close for three days due to a scabies outbreak.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is managing the outbreak at Knockavoe Special School in Strabane.

The school is to close for three days so that it can be deep cleaned and eradication treatment provided for pupils and staff.

In a statement to BBC News NI, the PHA said it was working with the Education Authority (EA), the Western Trust and the principal of the school to manage an outbreak of scabies in the school.

"Scabies is a common and treatable skin condition caused by a tiny mite," the PHA said.

"It spreads through prolonged skin to skin contact, and treatment is usually provided using medicated creams or tablets."

The PHA added that parents, carers and staff have been informed, and that it is "working with the school and trust to deliver an appropriate treatment plan".

"Anyone worried that they or their child may have scabies should seek advice from their community pharmacist or GP."

Knockavoe is a relatively large special school with about 170 pupils.

It is closed on Thursday and will close again on Friday and next Friday, 6 February, so treatment can take place.

Scabies can spread quickly in places where people live closely together, such as universities and care homes, and a number of universities in England saw outbreaks among students in 2024.

The EA said it was working with the PHA, Trust and school to support the response to this outbreak.

"While any school closure is always regrettable, the focus is rightly on delivering the required treatment plan," a spokesman added.

In a communication to parents of pupils at Knockavoe School, the PHA said that scabies can cause "an extremely itchy rash".

"It is not usually a serious condition but it does need to be treated," the agency said.

It said that scabies required treatment which can include a cream and a tablet.

Parents have been told to collect treatment from the school on Thursday.

There will be public health specialists at the school to explain scabies and give advice.

"Treating everyone at the same time is the best way to help reduce the risk of scabies coming back to the school," the PHA note to parents said.

Parents have also been told to clean, vacuum and dust their home after the treatment, and wash things like bed linen, blankets, clothes, towels and slippers.

In a letter to GPs and health professionals in the area, seen by BBC News NI, the PHA said that it had established a team to manage an investigation of the outbreak.

The PHA said that the coordinated treatment offered "reduced the likelihood of reinfection occurring in the school community".

The chair of the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland, Dr Ursula Mason, said scabies is very common and very contagious, with most people who have it describing an intense itch.

"From the point where you would get infested or you have direct contact with someone to the point where you might develop symptoms like the itch and the rash it can take up to about six weeks," she told Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"So often people are infested and don't actually know they have it at the time.

"It can spread rapidly, particularly in settings where there are very close contacts, so within families and within a family unit it's not uncommon for it to spread quite quickly through the family and also places like schools, daycare settings and anywhere where there's close skin to skin contact."

She said treating everyone you come in close contact with is important.

"While it's common, while it is spread very easily it's a little bit complex in terms of making sure that you treat it correctly," she added.

"But it is easily treatable and once it's treated and you've got rid of it, then you shouldn't have any long lasting impact from having had scabies."