24 soldiers with scabies in Ceuta: Defense rules out contagion by contact with migrants and activates a health protocol

The Ministry of Defense confirmed this Tuesday 24 cases of scabies among the military deployed in Ceuta to support the State Security Forces and Corps during the migratory crisis. The department has ruled out that the origin of the outbreak is related to the contact maintained by the contingent with the people who arrived in the autonomous city.

Two of the contagions occurred before the massive entry at the end of July, a fact that distances any direct link with migrants. This Wednesday, the president of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE), Maria João Forjaz, has also launched a resounding warning against messages that link immigration and diseases. "To think that migrants bring diseases is medically wrong and, furthermore, dangerous," she pointed out.

Defense investigates accommodation conditions

The 24 military personnel are receiving the treatment indicated by the health authorities. The Health Headquarters of the General Command of Ceuta has activated a protocol to quickly detect new symptoms, prevent further contagions and apply the same procedure in all units. It has also been ordered to sanitize the facilities used by the troops.

The Union of Military Troops (UMT) had initially warned of 14 cases within a company of the Ceuta Regulars Group number 54. The association maintains that the origin could be found in the accommodation conditions of the old K-8 Coastal Battery, facilities usually disused where the troops would have remained overcrowded and without adequate hygienic conditions.

The Spanish Association of Troops and Seamen (ATME) had also requested explanations from Defense. According to the World Health Organization, scabies is transmitted mainly through direct and prolonged skin contact. The risk increases in collective spaces and overcrowded places, while early treatment and cleaning of clothes, beds and facilities allow outbreaks to be contained.

Health workers warn of healthcare pressure

Epidemiologists precisely pinpoint overcrowding, lack of potable water, and difficulties in maintaining adequate hygiene as the main health problem Ceuta is experiencing. Forjaz explained that people who make these displacements are usually young and healthy, which specialists call the "healthy migrant bias". Ailments appear when they spend days in saturated spaces without basic resources.

Scabies and impetigo are common diseases in Spain and can appear in residences, shelters, children's camps, or any other collective living space. The expert insisted that the detected outbreaks do not represent a danger to the population of Ceuta, as long as cases are identified and treated correctly.

The situation is, however, subjecting professionals to intense pressure. The Official College of Nursing of Ceuta denounces an "unprecedented health collapse" and assures that staff attend to more than 200 daily cases, with duplicated shifts and problems in locating and following up on patients. Health acknowledges that the system is strained, although it refuses to speak of collapse.

During the first fifteen days of the crisis, 5,800 migrants were attended to in Ceuta's health services. About 3,500 went through primary care and another 2,300 through the hospital. The care load reached 1,149 attendances during the first day and subsequently decreased to an average close to 300 daily, according to data provided by the Ministry.

Forjaz warned that linking migrants with diseases can cause them to avoid going to medical centers out of fear or distrust. Delaying diagnoses and preventive measures can indeed harm public health as a whole. Epidemiologists are now demanding dignified overnight spaces, sanitation, potable water, food, and stable access to vaccination to contain outbreaks and relieve pressure on healthcare workers.