Outbreak of Tinea capitis and corporis in a primary school in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Jean-François Carod (1) , Maherisoa Ratsitorahina (1) , Hasina Raherimandimby (1) , Virginie Hincky Vitrat (1) , Vololomboahangy Ravaolimalala Andrianaja (1) , Nelly Contet-Audonneau (2)

1 Institut Pasteur de Madagascar
2 Laboratoire de mycologie, hôpital Fournier

INTRODUCTION: Tinea capitis is common among schoolchildren in developing countries but underreported in Madagascar. We report the occurrence of an outbreak of gray patch tinea capitis due to Microsporum langeronii in a public primary school of Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. METHODOLOGY: Forty-two children were included, 27 (64%) of them presenting with tinea capitis and 32 (76%) with Tinea corporis. Patients were treated with griseofulvin 500 mg and Povidone-iodine 4% and followed up for four weeks. RESULTS: Twenty-five (93%) of the 27 children with tinea capitis presented a gray patch as the main clinical feature. All these cases were fluorescent under Wood's UV light and positive in cultures for M. langeronii. All 27 children reported a contact with infected classmates, and 19 (70%) reported to have infected brothers and sisters at home. After four weeks of treatment, all patients recovered. CONCLUSION: Appropriate treatment and improved hygienic practices reduced the occurrence of tinea in the studied school and no more cases of tinea capitis or corporis occurred after the outbreak.

Keywords: tinea capitis; Microsporum audouinii; dermatophytes; outbreak; Madagascar

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Jean-François Carod, Maherisoa Ratsitorahina, Hasina Raherimandimby, Virginie Hincky Vitrat, Vololomboahangy Ravaolimalala Andrianaja, et al.. Outbreak of Tinea capitis and corporis in a primary school in Antananarivo, Madagascar.. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 2011, 5 (10), pp.732-6. ⟨10.3855/jidc.1944⟩. ⟨pasteur-00835679⟩