Scalp ringworm among Black children in South Africa and the occurrence of Trichophyton yaoundei

Abstract

The prevalence of tinea capitis among 153 children who were selected by overt signs of scalp infestation from among 658 Black schoolchildren, was studied in two rural areas of the Transvaal. In both areas (Eastern and Northern Transvaal), Trichophyton violaceum was the predominant dermatophyte species which was isolated. Microsporum audouinii was isolated in both areas from a total of 4 children, but M. canis was the cause of only 1 infection, and that was in the Eastern Transvaal. Five infections caused by T. yaoundei, all of which occurred in the Northern Transvaal, were recorded. They are the first documented cases of endothrix scalp ringworm caused by this species in South Africa.