Swansea's Morriston Hospital imposes visiting restrictions after a scabies outbreak, the THIRD Welsh hospital to be hit since July

Swansea Bay University Health Board has confirmed a small number of scabies cases at Morriston Hospital, imposing visiting restrictions and urging anyone with concerns to contact a GP or pharmacist. Families of affected patients have been informed and given treatment or guidance.

Scabies spreads through close skin contact, causing an intensely itchy rash as microscopic mites burrow under the skin and lay eggs.

Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli was also hit last month, and a crusted scabies outbreak — a rarer, highly contagious form — struck a ward at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, in July.

Consultant dermatologist Dr Firas Al-Niaimi has warned scabies 'spreads very quickly, so it needs to be caught early to limit infections.'