If you were a patient at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Intensive Care Unit in the past few months, you may be getting a call from Alberta Health Services about possible exposure to scabies.

AHS released a report this week saying someone with the infestation was at the hospital back in October, but as Medical Officer of Health for the Central Zone Dr. Digby Horne explains, you can pass scabies to others well before symptoms show.

“The problem with scabies is that it takes about 8 weeks, so a couple of months, to develop signs and symptoms. But during that time, that person is communicable. We’re focusing mainly on the people who were exposed within the last couple of months. So we chose the January 1st date, notifying them that they’ve been exposed and they should receive a prophylactic single dose treatment.”

Anyone who may have been exposed closer to October, you might be directed to go see your doctor if you are displaying symptoms.

Scabies is an infestation caused when tiny mites set up shop in the outer layers of our skin, burrowing in and laying eggs, which leads to an itchy and angry rash.

Scabies is normally transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.