"Norwegian scabies" and "Norwegian itch" are names given to a rare form of scabies characterized clinically by formation of thick crusts and keratotic plaques. The more descriptive terms "scabies crustosa" and "psoriasiform scabies" indicate why the disease is considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperkeratosis follicularis, pityriasis rubra pilaris, kertoderma blennorrhagica, rupioid psoriasis, and crusted erythroderma.
Because the first case was reported from Norway by Danielssen and Boeck,1 Hebra named the condition scabies Norwegica Boeckii.2 Subsequent reports of the disease in Europe, Russia, Brazil, Melanesia, Japan, and Africa have appeared. The condition appears to be particularly uncommon in the
United States, only six cases having been reported previously.*
Two cases occurring in native-born Americans living in widely separated communities in Louisiana form the basis of the present report. Our observations are considered in the light of the more usual reaction of