Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 10
Structural Mechanisms of
Inactivation in Proteolytically
Inactive Serine Proteases from
Sarcoptes scabiei
KATJA FISCHER,
a
JAMES A. IRVING,
b
ROBERT PIKE
b
AND ASHLEY M. BUCKLE*
b
a
Scabies Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane,
4029, Australia;
b
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health
Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
10.1 Scabies
Scabies is a parasitic infection of the skin caused by the burrowing of the
ectoparasitic itch mite Sarcoptes scabiei.
1-3
The disease aicts about 300
million people worldwide and is particularly problematic within socially dis-
advantaged populations. Infections are endemic in Aboriginal communities in
Northern Australia that are characterized by inadequate medical facilities and
overcrowding.
4,5
Scabies is also prevalent in immuno-deficient patients and
residents of nursing homes, despite the availability of chemotherapy control
measures.
6
Infestation occurs when the adult female mite burrows in the skin.
Pruritic scabies lesions are often accompanied by opportunistic streptococcal
infections with significant sequelae (cellulitis, septicemia, and glomerulone-
phritis), and the increased community streptococcal burden contributes to
extreme levels of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disease.
4,5
