Prevalence of scabies among secondary school students in Anambra State, Nigeria

Scabies has been listed as one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases. Therefore, this study aimed at estimating the prevalence of Scabies among Secondary School Students in Anambra State, Nigeria. A survey of Scabies infection was conducted in fifty (50) randomly selected secondary schools in the three geographical zones of Anambra State, Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was employed to elucidate information on age, sex and also on knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP). Focus group discussions, direct clinical observations and microscopic examinations using the skin scraping test method for the confirmation of scabies infestation were also employed. Data analysis was done using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 and Microsoft Excel version 16. Out of the five thousand (5000) students examined 500 (10.0%) were identified as positive from the research works, the sex-specific prevalent rate showed that 209 out of the 3000 females (6.97%) were positive while 291 out of the 2000 males (14.55%) were positive. The age-specific prevalence showed that age groups 10 to 12 years had the highest prevalence rate (29.0%) and 9.6% in both the male and female students respectively. The infectivity rate among urban and rural schools showed that rural students were more prone to scabies infections (14.12%) than their urban counterparts (5.88%) and the difference was statistically significant. The result of this study helped identify some students with Scabies infection in Anambra state Nigeria for appropriate treatment, prevention and control measures to curb the menace of Scabies infestation.

Comparison of Clinical Assessment and Adhesive-Tape Laboratory Microscopic of Sarcoptes scabiei for Scabies Diagnostic

Scabies infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei mite that infected the skin by making the tunnel burrow. Diagnosis of scabies infestation commonly relies on clinical assessment (CA). However, some scabies symptoms are similar to other diseases. Diagnosis of confirmed scabies can be made by identifying egg or Sarcoptes scabiei mite or scybala through skin scraping laboratory microscopic examination, which was the adhesive tape microscopic (AT) a noninvasive alternative. We aimed to compare the scabies diagnostic accuracy of CA and AT in Islamic Boarding School. This study was an analytical observational cross-sectional study. The population was 94 students of Islamic Boarding School, determining the sample base on purposive sampling technique. There were 34 samples with presumptive scabies analyzed with CA by two clinicians and AT by two trained laboratory technicians. The result showed that the number of patients who positive scabies by CA was 14 (41.18 percent) and 31 (91.18 percent) by AT. Sensitivity was 41.93 percent for CA and 92.85 percent for AT, and the difference was significantly based on Cohen's kappa (ⱪ=0.024). The number of positive cases with both techniques was 13 (38.24 percent). The number of patients positive with only CA was 1 (2.93 percent), and only AT was 18 (22.9 percent). The accuracy of CA was only 44,11 percent. The study concluded that CA is low accuracy than AT. The adhesive tape test is easy, needs no expensive equipment. It is recommended that adhesive tape test for screening purposes. The appropriate comprehensive of both methods for scabies diagnostic is highly recommended.

Risk factors associated with scabies infestation among primary schoolchildren in a low socio-economic area in southeast of Iran

Background Scabies is a neglected tropical disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows under the skin. It is a major health problem in tropical areas, largely affecting children. Scabies is common and highly contagious and in schoolchildren spreads quite rapidly, due to overcrowding and close contact within the schools. This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with scabies infestation among primary schoolchildren in Bashagard County, one of the low socio-economic areas in southeast of Iran. Methods To conduct this community-based, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, four primary schools were randomly selected in the Bashagard County. All students in these schools were selected and examined for scabies. Clinical examination and sociodemographic profile of students were assessed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the factors associated with scabies infestation by SPSS version 21 software. Results Out of 480 studied schoolchildren, 15 cases of scabies with a prevalence of 3.1 % were observed. The frequency of infestation in males was 1.6 % and it was 4.7 % in females. Independent factors associated with a high risk of scabies infestation in unadjusted analysis were being student of grade 5–6 (cOR = 13.12, 95 % CI 2.92–58.89, p = 0.0001), low educational level of father (cOR = 4.37, 95 % CI 0.97–19.59, p = 0.036), low educational level of mother (cOR = 4.14, 95 % CI 1.92–18.57, p = 0.045), joblessness of father (cOR = 14.77, 95 % CI 4.97–43.89, p = 0.0001), employment of mother (cOR = 5.28, 95 % CI 1.38–20.16, p = 0.007), large family size (cOR = 3.34, 95 % CI 1.05–10.64, p = 0.031), use of shared articles (cOR = 33.37, 95 % CI 10.82–102.90, p = 0.0001), and absence of bathroom in the house (cOR = 11.77, 95 % CI 2.16–63.94, p = 0.0001). Conclusions Results of this study confirmed that scabies is still one of the most important health problems in the primary schools of the Bashagard County. Low socioeconomic status and personal hygiene of the schoolchildren were the most important factors influencing the prevalence of scabies. Improvement of socioeconomic conditions and implementation of appropriate educational programs and active surveillance system to quickly detect and treat scabies cases are necessary in order to reduce the prevalence of scabies in schoolchildren in this area.

Risk Factors Associated With Scabies Infestation Among Schoolchildren in a Low Socio-Economic Area in Southeast of Iran

Background: Scabies is a neglected tropical disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows under the skin. It is a major health problem in tropical areas, largely affecting children. Scabies is common and highly contagious and in schoolchildren spreads quite rapidly, due to overcrowding and close contact within the schools. This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with scabies infestation among schoolchildren in Bashagard County, one of the low socio-economic areas in southeast of Iran.Methods: To conduct this community-based cross-sectional study, four primary schools were randomly selected in the Bashagard County. In each school all of the students were selected and examined for scabies. Clinical examination and sociodemographic profile of students were assessed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS.21 software.Results: Out of 480 studied schoolchildren, there were 15 cases of scabies with a prevalence of 3.1%. The frequency of infestation in males was 1.6% and it was 4.7% in females. Independent factors associated with a high risk of scabies infestation in unadjusted analysis were being student of grade 5-6 (OR =13.12, 95% CI 2.92-58.89, p= 0.0001), being older than 10 years (OR =36.07, 95% CI 7.96-163.28, p= 0.0001), low educational level of father (OR =4.37, 95% CI 0.97-19.59, p= 0.036), low educational level of mother (OR =4.14, 95% CI 1.92-18.57, p=0.045), father’s joblessness (OR =14.77, 95% CI 4.97-43.89, p=0.0001), employment of mother (OR =5.28, 95% CI 1.38-20.16, p=0.007), large family size (OR =3.34, 95% CI 1.05-10.64, p=0.031), use of shared articles (OR =33.37, 95% CI 10.82-102.90, p= 0.0001), and absence of bathroom in the house (OR =11.77, 95% CI 2.16-63.94, p= 0.0001). Conclusion: Results of this study confirm that scabies is still one of the most important health problem in the Primary schools of the Bashagard County. Low socioeconomic status and personal hygiene of the schoolchildren were the most important factors significantly influencing the prevalence of scabies. Improvement of socioeconomic conditions and implementation of appropriate educational programs and active surveillance system to quickly detect and treat scabies cases is necessary to reduce the prevalence of scabies in schoolchildren in this area.