Workers on the B line of the Buenos Aires subway have warned that an “infestation of scabies” is spreading due to a lack of cleaning and fumigation, sickening employees.

The Subte and Premetro Workers’ Trade Association added that they had also been warning the authorities about “rodents, scorpions, cockroaches, and other vectors of transmission and contagion” for years without receiving an adequate response. 

“Unfortunately we found out in the worst possible way: when our coworkers started to feel an itch in their skin, they went to the doctor and they were diagnosed with scabies,” said Claudio Dellecarbonara, a union representative for the line’s workers, to TV channel C5N. “An investigation was launched and the only place that all those workers had in common were the trains.”

He said the union has long been demanding investment in the line, which has trains that are up to 70 years old and require maintenance. The presence of asbestos in the trains remains a problem, he said. “It’s still there across the network, despite the law [forbidding it] and despite court rulings. It keeps killing workers, and there’s a risk to passengers too.”

In September, Buenos Aires City government announced that the trains on the B line would be replaced with brand new ones that have air conditioning. 

Scabies is a contagious skin condition caused by tiny parasites. The main symptoms are a rash and an intense itching sensation.

Emova, the company that operates the Buenos Aires subway, said in a statement that it had not received a formal report of the presence of scabies on the B line.

A prescription and medical report bearing Emova’s logo, which the Herald has seen, shows that a female employee was diagnosed with scabies, prescribed medicine, and signed off work for a week. It did not mention where the patient contracted the parasite.

“The company has proceeded to strengthen its routine cleaning and disinfection protocols as a preventative measure,” Emova said in a statement. “Likewise, last night, after the service was closed, a special monitoring was requested from the fumigator on all trains. [The fumigator] informed us that, after analyzing both the passenger cabins and the drivers’ cabins, no infestations of any kind were found inside the cars or the station facilities.”

The company added that it carried out regular pest control operations. 

The B line transports an estimated 183,000 passengers a day. It runs from the Microcentro central business district through the theater district, Almagro, Villa Crespo and Chacarita, finishing in Villa Urquiza.