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.
Keywords: Dermatophytes; Fungi; Kerion celsi; Microsporum audouinii; Therapy.