Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research into Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Mar 26;24(1):349. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09242-y.
Skin diseases such as impetigo pose a significant public health challenge in low resource settings. Despite this, there is a dearth of epidemiological data on the prevalence of this condition in Ghana.
We conducted a cross sectional study in three settings in Ghana: community members in East Mamprusi district in the North East region, a secondary school in Sekyere East district, and inmates of the Kumasi central prisons both in the Ashanti region. Following a period of training, we performed a standardised skin examination on each participant to assess for scabies and impetigo. We calculated the prevalence of each skin condition and investigated determinants of impetigo.
RESULTS/ FINDINGS: Of the 1327 participants [males 64.1% and median age 22 (16-29) years], 746 (56.2%) had scabies and 186 (14%) had impetigo which was usually very mild or mild in severity. Most participants with impetigo also had scabies (161/186, 86.6%). Having an itch [RR 6.05 (95% CI 2.53-14.47)], presence of scabies burrows [RR 1.99 (95% CI 1.54-2.59)], clinical scabies [RR 3.15 (2.11-4.72)] or being in preschool [RR 4.56 (1.78-11.67)] increased the risk for impetigo. A combination of the presence of clinical scabies, age, sex and itch most accurately predicted the odds of having impetigo.
There is substantial burden of impetigo and scabies in Ghana. There is a need to institute measures to improve detection and control of these common dermatoses as part of Universal Health Coverage package to reduce the scourge of the diseases in this setting.
在资源匮乏的环境中，皮肤病（如脓疱疮）对公共卫生构成了重大挑战。尽管如此，加纳关于这种疾病流行情况的流行病学数据却很少。
我们在加纳的三个地区进行了横断面研究：东北地区东曼普鲁西地区的社区成员、阿散蒂地区塞克耶东地区的一所中学和库马西中央监狱的囚犯。经过一段时间的培训，我们对每个参与者进行了标准化的皮肤检查，以评估疥疮和脓疱疮。我们计算了每种皮肤状况的患病率，并调查了脓疱疮的决定因素。
结果/发现：在 1327 名参与者中（男性占 64.1%，中位年龄为 22 岁（16-29 岁）），746 名（56.2%）患有疥疮，186 名（14%）患有脓疱疮，病情通常非常轻微或轻度。大多数患有脓疱疮的参与者也患有疥疮（161/186，86.6%）。有瘙痒[RR 6.05（95%CI 2.53-14.47）]、存在疥疮隧道[RR 1.99（95%CI 1.54-2.59）]、临床疥疮[RR 3.15（2.11-4.72）]或在学前班[RR 4.56（1.78-11.67）]会增加患脓疱疮的风险。临床疥疮的存在、年龄、性别和瘙痒的组合最能准确预测患脓疱疮的几率。
加纳有大量的脓疱疮和疥疮负担。需要采取措施，提高对这些常见皮肤病的发现和控制，作为全民健康覆盖方案的一部分，以减少这种环境中这些疾病的肆虐。
