A scabies outbreak has been reported in communities in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region, authorities confirmed to JoyNews. Officials from the municipal health directorate were dispatched to two communities hard -hit by the outbreak - Tinguri and Duu, to assess infection rate and plan treatment for the patients. A top official at the directorate who asked for anonymity said over 10 communities have so far been affected. He says the figure could rise as more communities are still being assessed. The officials are to brief the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Thursday. This is the second district in the region to have recorded large scale infestation after parts of East Mamprusi District earlier reported a massive outbreak—affecting more than 20 communities. Around 6000 inhabitants were affected in the earlier outbreak in the East Mamprusi District. The outbreak in the East Mamprusi District was first recorded at Dagbriboari, a small village situated 12-kilometer west of Gambaga, the second largest town in the district. The outbreak was initially linked to superstition which led to appeasing of the gods but nothing changed until samples were taken by experts and confirmed to scabies. Scabies is among the top ten skin diseases in Ghana. Scabies is a dermatologic condition caused by an eight-legged microscopic mite. It is contagious and can spread very easily from person to person through close physical contact. Poor sanitation is said to be the main cause of the disease and the WHO says scabies presents a major health threat to developing countries including Ghana although it is not a fatal disease. Like Kala-azar, a chronic and potentially fatal parasitic disease which has been problematic for the East Africa region, superstition affects the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) just like the scabies outbreak in Ghana’s North East Region where community members perceived the outbreak to a bad omen from the gods.