Prevalence of skin diseases in school children in rural and urban communities in the Illubabor province, south-western Ethiopia: a preliminary survey

Scabies in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study of prevalence, determinants, clinical presentation and community knowledge

BACKGROUND

The WHO aims to prevent, eliminate or control neglected tropical diseases, including scabies, by 2030. However, limited epidemiological data presented a challenge to control efforts, especially in high burden countries. There was a major scabies outbreak in northern Ethiopia starting in 2015 and prevalence has since increased across much of the country.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate scabies prevalence, identify its predictors, and assess community perception of, and knowledge about, the infestation.

DESIGN

Population-based cross-sectional study.

STUDY SETTING

Ayu Guagusa district, Amhara region, northern Ethiopia.

PARTICIPANTS

1437 people who were members of 381 randomly selected households participated in the study. Five trained mid-level health workers clinically diagnosed people with scabies.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Clinically diagnosed scabies infestation.

DATA ANALYSIS

Multi-level logistic regression models were fitted to adjust for individual and household-level confounding variables, and identify predictors of scabies infestation.

RESULTS

Scabies prevalence was 13.4% (95% CI 11.8 to 15.5). Households of more than five people (adjusted OR (aOR)=3.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 10.2) were associated with increased odds of developing scabies, however, females had lower odds (aOR=0.5 95% CI 0.3 to 0.8). Scabietic lesions most frequently involved the trunk (62.0%), and vesicles were the most common types of lesions (67.7%). Two-thirds of adult study participants had heard about scabies and most obtained scabies related information from informal sources. Only 32% of cases sought care for scabies from any source.

CONCLUSION

Scabies prevalence was high, signifying the need for community-based control interventions. Host density and sex were important predictors of scabies. Despite the favourable attitude toward the effectiveness of scabies treatment, healthcare seeking was low.

Pediculosis capitis among school-age students worldwide as an emerging public health concern: a systematic review and meta-analysis of past five decades

Pediculosis by Pediculus humanus capitis is still an important health issue in school-age students worldwide. Although pediculicidal agents effectively kill head lice, the re-infestation rate is still high. This study was conducted to provide a summary of evidence about the prevalence of pediculosis capitis among school-age students worldwide. Different databases including MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for publications related to pediculosis capitis in school-age students from 1977 to 2020. All peer-reviewed original research articles describing pediculosis capitis among school-age students were included. Statistical heterogeneity of the different years among studies was assessed using the standard chi squared and I² tests. Due to the significant heterogeneity, a random effect model was adopted to estimate the pooled, continent, and gender-specific prevalence of pediculosis. Two hundred and one papers met the inclusion criteria of this review and entered into the meta-analysis including 1,218,351 individuals. Through a random effect model, the prevalence of pediculosis capitis among school students was estimated as 19% (CI 95% = 0.18-0.20%, I² = 99.89%). The prevalence of pediculosis capitis among boys was 7% (CI 95% = 0.05-0.10) compared to 19% (CI 95% = 0.15-0.24) in girls. The highest prevalence was in Central and South America (33%, CI 95% = 0.22-0.44, I² = 99.81%) and the lowest was in Europe (5%, CI 95% = 4-6, I² = 99.28%). Relatively high pediculosis capitis prevalence among school-age students observed in this study emphasizes the need for implementing screening and prophylaxis tailored to the local context.

Migration, community context, and child immunization in Ethiopia

This paper examines the relationship between parental migration status and child immunization in Southern Ethiopia, a region characterized by high mortality and morbidity. Using the 1997 Community and Family Survey and a multilevel modeling approach, we find that children born to rural-rural migrant mothers have significantly less chance of receiving full immunization coverage than children born to non-migrant mothers. The social mechanism that explains this huge disparity is that rural-rural migrant women have limited social networks in the host community. In addition, significant variation in receiving complete immunization is found by age of child (a likely period effect), mother's education, and distance to nearest health center. Marked child immunization differentials are also observed by ethnicity. The results from the multilevel analysis confirm the persistence of substantial community effects, even after controlling for a standard array of personal and household characteristics. Given the low levels of vaccination among children born to migrant women, health policy interventions and information campaigns might be effectively augmented to reach such migrant women and their children. Community and ethnic group effects suggest that further targeting of health activities could be efficient and effective.