Estimation of the Burden of Tinea Capitis Among Children in 10 Africa
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mycoses
Abstract
Tinea capitis is a common and endemic dermatophytosis among school
age children in Africa. However, the true burden of the disease is unknown in Africa.
Objective: We aimed to estimate the burden of tinea capitis among children less than 18
years of age in Africa.
Methods: A systematic review was performed using Embase, Medline and the Cochrane
Library of Systematic Reviews to identify articles on tinea capitis among children in Africa
published between January 1990 and October 2020. The United Nation’s Population data
(2019) was used to identify the number of children at risk of tinea capitis in each African
country. Using the pooled prevalence, the country-specific and total burden of tinea
capitis was calculated.
Results: Forty studies involving a total of 229,086 children from 17/54 African countries
were identified and included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of tinea capitis was
23% (95% CI, 17%-29%) mostly caused by Trichophyton species. With a population of
600 million (46%) children, the total number of cases of tinea capitis in Africa was
estimated at 138.1 (95% CI, 102.0 – 174.1) million cases. Over 96% (132.6 million) cases
occur in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Nigeria and Ethiopia with the highest population of
children contributed 16.4% (n=98.7 million) and 8.5% (n=52.2 million) of cases,
respectively. Majority of the participants were primary school children with a mean age of
10 years. Cases are mostly diagnosed clinically. There was a large discrepancy between
the clinical and mycological diagnosis.
Conclusions: About one in every 5 children in Africa has tinea capitis making it one of
the most common childhood conditions in the region. A precise quantification of the
burden of this neglected tropical disease is required to inform clinical and public health
intervention strategies.
Description
Keywords
Tinea capitis, children, Africa, Dermatomycoses, Prevalence, Aetiology
Citation
Bongomin, F., Olum, R., Nsenga, L., Namusobya, M., Russell, L., de Sousa, E., ... & Baluku, J. B. (2021). Estimation of the burden of tinea capitis among children in Africa. Mycoses, 64(4), 349-363. doi: 10.1111/MYC.13221