Incidence of Dermatophytic Infections among the Inhabitants of Ondo North Senatorial District, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study helps to investigate the epidemiological status of dermatophytosis among the inhabitants of Ondo North district, Ondo State, Nigeria and to identify organisms associated with the infection. Skin, nail and swabs/scrapings were collected from individuals suspected to have the symptoms of dematophytosis after seeking ethical clearance from the appropriate authority. Five hundred and twenty individuals (339 males and 181 females) were considered for the study and samples were analyzed using standard microbiological methods. Three hundred and sixty-six out of the total sample analyzed tested positive. The dermatophytes isolated include: Trichophyton ajelloi, T. mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. schoelenii, T. soudenenses, T. tonsurans, T. verrucosum, Microsporumaudonii, M. canis, M. gypseum, and Epidermophyton floccusum. The highest occurrence of 248 (47.7%) was recorded within the age group 1-10 years, while least occurrence of 10 (1.9%) was observed among individuals aged 40 years and above.Scalp infection was the most prevalent with 56% of the all infections, while the face and nail infections were the least with 1% of the infections. School pupils were found to contribute to majority of the cases (84%), followed by the farmers (8.6%) while the lowest infection was found among the community health workers. The participants having low socioeconomic status in their living environment were found to be predominant (70.77%) in the study while those with high socioeconomic status were of lowest percentage (10.58%). Dermatophytosis is a common public health problem affecting all age groups especially the school pupils and the less educated people in the study area, whereas the infected individuals rarely seek medical advice for their treatment. Unhygienic conditions among low socioeconomic group, overcrowding and poor personal hygiene are some of the contributing risk factors.