By Christian Njoku

An official of the Afokang Medium Security Custodial Centre, Calabar, has lamented the high rate of scabies infection among inmates of the centre, describing it as a major health challenge.

The official who appealed for anonymity disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during a visit to the centre on Tuesday.

Scabies is a highly contagious skin condition caused by a tiny mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. These mites burrow into the upper layer of the skin where they live and lay eggs, triggering intense itching and rash with blisters.

The official, who also lamented the poor state of the clinic in the centre, said it had no drugs, and appealed to well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to help the centre with drugs to help the inmates.

?It used to be malaria and typhoid fever that was a major challenge and there were no drugs in the clinic to help the inmates, but as we speak, the greatest health concern now is scabies.

?Just look round and observe the body of the inmates almost all of them have rashes and are itching, yet there is nothing the centre can do about it without drugs.

?This place was built to take 450 inmates but as we speak, the inmates are more than 620, making it too congested and easy for the infection to spread among them.

He added that, most times, politicians go to the media claiming they have done things for the centre to make it better, saying, but when you look around, you cannot find these claims.

NAN reports that the Afokang Medium Security Custodial Centre which has the capacity of 450 inmates has about 629 inmates out of which more than 400 are on the awaiting trial list. (NAN)