Studies on the prevalence of tinea capitis infection in Ile-Ife,Nigeria

Investigations were carried out into the prevalence of tinea capitis infection among school children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The prevalence rate of clinical infection was found to be 14.02%. The infection was found to be more frequent among pupils between ages 5 and 10 years, and more prevalent among the poor than the rich (p<0.005). Families having between 1 and 4 children had lower prevalence than families having minimum of five children (p<0.10). Approximately one-third of the clinically infected children were not receiving any treatment while about two-thirds of the remaining two-thirds were using local native remedies, some of which had resulted in deaths of some children. The most common causative agent isolated from the lesions was Microsporum audouinii.