title: Mycological profile of tinea capitis in schoolchildren in rural southern Ethiopia.
abstract: Tinea capitis is a known common infection among schoolchildren in developing countries that is still underreported in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiologic and etiologic profile of tinea capitis among school-aged children in a rural area in southern Ethiopia. We collected demographic and clinicodermatological data from school children aged 3-12 years with tinea infections. Pathologic specimens were taken for potassium hydroxide (KOH) mount and mycological culture. Dermatophyte species were identified by macroscopic examination of the colony and microscopic examination of fungal cultures. A total of 634 schoolchildren were screened in the study; 128 cases were suspected for tinea capitis based on clinical examination of which 99 patients (mean age 6.7 years within a range of 4-12 years), who were subsequently positive, either based on KOH examination or showed growth of dermatophytes on culture, were included in our study. The ratio of males to females was 3:1. A total of 88 patients (89.9%) had a culture positive for dermatophytes. The zoophilic species Trichophyton verrucosum was the most prevalent isolate (n = 29 cases), followed by the anthropophilic species T. tonsurans (n = 27). The other Trichophyton species implicated were T. mentagrophytes (n = 14), as well as T. schoenleinii, T. soudanense, and T. violaceum. Only 11 of the isolates belonged to the genus Microsporum: M. audouinii (n = 8), M. ferrugineum (n = 2), and M. gallinae (n = 1). T. verrucosum, followed by T. tonsurans were the most frequent causative agents in this study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.|Division of Infectious Diseases, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez-Tanoira
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marín
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berbegal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.|Division of Infectious Diseases, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prieto-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tisiano
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.|Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cuadros
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.|Division of Infectious Diseases, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.|Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Górgolas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Laboratory, Gambo Rural General Hospital, Kore, West-Arsi, Gambo, Ethiopia.|Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante and Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D008853:Microscopy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D014006:Tinea Capitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Dermatophytosis; Ethiopia; Trichophyton; children; tinea capitis