Dermatophytosis among Schoolchildren in Three Eco-climatic Zones of Mali

Background: dermatophytosis,and particularly the subtype tinea capitis,is common among african children; however,the risk factors associated with this condition are poorly understood. to describe the epidemiology of dermatophytosis in distinct eco-climatic zones,three cross-sectional surveys were conducted in public primary schools located in the sahelian,sudanian and sudano-guinean eco-climatic zones in mali. principal findings: among 590 children (average age 9.7 years) the overall clinical prevalence of tinea capitis was 39.3%. tinea capitis prevalence was 59.5% in the sudano-guinean zone,41.6% in the sudanian zone and 17% in the sahelian eco-climatic zone. microsporum audouinii was isolated primarily from large and/or microsporic lesions. trichophyton soudanense was primarily isolated from trichophytic lesions. based on the multivariate analysis,tinea capitis was independently associated with male gender (or = 2.51,95%ci [1.74–3.61],p<10−4) and residing in the sudano-guinean eco-climatic zone (or = 7.45,95%ci [4.63–11.99],p<10−4). two anthropophilic dermatophytes species,trichophyton soudanense and microsporum audouinii,were the most frequent species associated with tinea capitis among primary schoolchildren in mali. conclusions: tinea capitis risk increased with increasing climate humidity in this relatively homogenous schoolchild population in mali,which suggests a significant role of climatic factors in the epidemiology of dermatophytosis. © 2016 coulibaly et al.