Staphylococcus aureus colonization of burrows in erythrodermic Norwegian scabies. A case study of iatrogenic contagion.

Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated extensive bacterial colonization of scabies burrows honeycombing the stratum corneum of an elderly woman with erythroderma. Cultures of scybala revealed hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus, possibly responsible for the erythroderma. Epidemiologic data revealed a trail of scabies through two nursing homes and one hospital during the 2-year period that physicians believed she had a drug-induced erythroderma.