Superficial Fungal Infections among School Age Children: Does Prevalence and Pattern Differ between Commercial and Agrarian Communities?

Abstract

Background: Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are common and have considerable negative impact on school children in tropics. Objectives: The study compared the prevalence and pattern of SFI among primary school pupils in an agrarian (Ukpor) and commercial (Nnewi) communities in Nnewi Area. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among primary school pupils in Nnewi Area. Subjects were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: Final analysis involved 773 and 789 pupils in the agrarian and commercial communities, respectively. Their mean age was 9.0 ±2.0 years and male: female ratio was 1:1. The agrarian community had a significantly higher proportion of children who were from low socio-economic class families, and had poorer hygiene practices (p=0.000). The overall prevalence of SFIs was 28.9%. Prevalence was significantly higher in the agrarian compared to commercial community (39.3% versus 18.6%; p = 0.000). Tinea capitis was the predominant form of SFIs accounting for 80.3% and 83.7% of SFIs cases in the agrarian and commercial communities, respectively. Black dot tinea capitis was the commonest variant of tinea capitis in both communities. Of the variants of tinea capitis, only the diffuse scale type differed in the rate of occurrence in the two communities (6.3% in agrarian versus 0.0% in commercial communities, p=0.023). The most prevalent organisms were T. tonsurans (37.9%), T. mentagrophytes (28.8%) and T. rubrum (18.7%) of which T. rubrum was significantly higher in the commercial community (27.6% versus 14.9%, p=0.036). Conclusion: The burden of SFI is high among primary school children in Nnewi area, especially among those in agrarian communities. More awareness should be created on the prevention, identification and treatment.