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To the Editor:
I was interested in Dr. Ervin Epstein's figures on the incidence of scabies (Arch Derm93:60, 1966) as his experience is very similar to ours in Great Britain. However, I believe he is one stage behind us as the number of cases we are seeing is rising again. This is illustrated by the following figures from the Leeds Infirmary where we see 6,000 to 7,000 new patients each year.In 1947 we saw 162 new patients; in 1951 we saw 11 new patients; in 1954 we saw 11 new patients; in 1957 we saw 13 new patients; in 1961 we saw 68 new patients; in 1964 we saw 115 new patients; and in 1965 we saw 176 new patients.I believe Dr. Epstein is right in emphasizing "the decrease in the index of suspicion by clinicians." At the end of the war scabies was so common