[Trichophyton violaceum : Main cause of tinea capitis in children at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda].

BACKGROUND

Tinea capitis is caused by anthropophilic, zoophilic or geophilic dermatophytes of the genera Microsporum or Trichophyton.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical presentation of tinea capitis among children in western Uganda.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From February to June 2012, skin and hair samples were obtained from 115 patients aged from 1 to 16 years presenting at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MUSC) with clinically suspected tinea capitis. Conventional mycological diagnostics comprised Blancophor preparation and cultivation of fungi for species identification.

RESULTS

Tinea capitis among the children included in the MUSC study was mainly noninflammatory showing mostly a seborrhoeic pattern or "black dot" and "gray patch" form and highly inflammatory kerion celsi. Blancophor preparation identified 82.6 % positive and 17.4 % negative samples. Cultural species differentiation showed Trichophyton (T.) violaceum as the causative agent for tinea capitis in 56.6 % of the patients. In 13 %, Microsporum (M.) audouinii was isolated followed by T. soudanense (2.6 %), and T. rubrum (1.7 %). In addition, moulds (contamination?) such as Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium oxysporum were found as well as mixed infections.

CONCLUSION

The anthropophilic dermatophyte T. violaceum represents the most frequent cause of tinea capitis in western Uganda. For successful management oral antifungal therapy is necessary together with supportive topical treatment.