Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University Kano P.M.B 3011, Kano- Nigeria.
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Mycol Med. 2021 Sep;31(3):101157. doi: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2021.101157. Epub 2021 May 26.
Tinea capitis is a dermatophyte infection of the scalp and hair that affects a large number of people worldwide. The disease commonly affects children and manifests with varying degrees of hair loss, scalp inflammation, and psychosocial impact. In Nigeria, the burden of tinea capitis is worrisome affecting over 15,000,000 school-age children. Molecular techniques complement the conventional mycological examinations in laboratory diagnosis of tinea capitis. In this study, we identified dermatophytes species causing tinea capitis in Kano, Nigeria, using ITS-based nucleotide sequencing technique in addition to conventional mycological examination.
We collected 112 samples from the scalp of children with clinically diagnosed tinea capitis at the dermatology clinic of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, between April and September 2019. The samples were processed and subjected to direct microscopy and mycological culture to isolate dermatophytes species that were identified morphologically and using ITS sequencing.
Out of the 112 patients investigated, the majority (59.8%) were between the ages 6 and 9 years with a mean age of 7.3 ± 1.9 years. Males (79.5%) were predominantly affected. Black dot (46.4%) was the most common clinical type of tinea capitis followed by gray patch (39.3%) and kerion (1.8%). Favus was not observed. Microsporum audouinii (45.7%) was the predominant etiologic agent followed by Trichophyton soudanense (28.6%), T. violaceum (22.9%), and T. tonsurans (2.9%).
The prominence of anthropophilic dermatophytes as the main causes of tinea capitis in our localities suggests that public health interventions to promote health education and good hygiene practices would minimize the transmission rate of tinea capitis among children in the study area.
头癣是一种由皮肤真菌引起的头皮和头发感染，影响着全球大量人群。该疾病常见于儿童，表现为不同程度的脱发、头皮炎症和心理社会影响。在尼日利亚，头癣的负担令人担忧，影响了超过 1500 万学龄儿童。分子技术补充了实验室对头癣进行常规真菌学检查的诊断。在这项研究中，我们使用基于 ITS 的核苷酸测序技术，除了常规真菌学检查外，还确定了导致尼日利亚卡诺头癣的皮肤真菌种类。
我们从 2019 年 4 月至 9 月在卡诺默塔拉·穆罕默德专科医院皮肤科诊所就诊的临床诊断为头癣的儿童头皮上采集了 112 个样本。对这些样本进行处理，并进行直接显微镜检查和真菌培养，以分离出形态学鉴定和 ITS 测序鉴定的皮肤真菌种类。
在所调查的 112 名患者中，大多数（59.8%）年龄在 6 至 9 岁之间，平均年龄为 7.3 ± 1.9 岁。男性（79.5%）受影响更为严重。黑癣（46.4%）是最常见的头癣临床类型，其次是灰斑癣（39.3%）和脓癣（1.8%）。未观察到黄癣。微小毛癣菌（45.7%）是主要的病原体，其次是苏丹毛癣菌（28.6%）、紫色毛癣菌（22.9%）和须癣毛癣菌（2.9%）。
亲人性皮肤真菌作为我们当地头癣主要病因的突出地位表明，促进健康教育和良好卫生习惯的公共卫生干预措施将最大限度地降低研究地区儿童头癣的传播率。
