PEDIATRICS Vol. 96 No. 2 August 1995, pp. 265-267
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Williams, J. V.
Right arrow Articles by Leyden, J. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Williams, J. V.
Right arrow Articles by Leyden, J. J.

Semiquantitative Study of Tinea Capitis and the Asymptomatic Carrier State in Inner-City School Children

Judith V. Williams MD1, Paul J. Honig MD2, Kenneth J. McGinley 3, and James J. Leyden MD3

1 Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
2 Departments of Pediatrics and Pediatric Dermatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Department of Dermatology, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia
3 Department of Dermatology, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia

Objective. To quantify and characterize the asymptomatic carrier state of tinea capitis in school children from the inner city.

Methods. All students attending a parochial school (kindergarten through seventh grade) in the city of Philadelphia were cultured for tinea capitis periodically over 16 months (1404 hemi-scalp cultures from 224 children).

Results. Our initial prevalence study of this all-black population (ages 5 to 13 years) found a 3% rate of index cases (symptomatic) and a 14% rate of asymptomatic carriers (without black-dot lesions, obvious hair loss, scaling, crusts, pustules, or erythema). Trichophyton tonsurans was the predominant dermatophyte (96% of 125 positive cultures; Microsporum canis was the only other isolate). Fifty percent of all positive cultures came from children in kindergarten and first grade; first grade had the highest rate of index cases. The overall prevalence of asymptomatic carriers was not higher in the classes containing index cases. Fifty-nine percent of asymptomatic carriers had a 1+ spore load (1 to 10 colonies isolated per scalp), while 74% of index cases had a 4+ spore load (>150 total colonies). Forty-five untreated asymptomatic carriers were followed for 2 to 5 months: 19 (42%) became culture-negative; of these, 17 (90%) had a 1+ spore load.

Conclusions. We found that inner-city black school children who are asymptomatic carriers of T tonsurans had lower spore loads than index cases. Index cases did not appear to be the primary mode of transmission within a classroom. More than half of untreated asymptomatic carriers remained culture-positive after 2 months and probably play a role in the transmission of tinea capitis within this population.

Submitted on July 5, 1994
Accepted on November 14, 1994




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
S. M. Abdel-Rahman, S. Simon, K. J. Wright, L. Ndjountche, and A. Gaedigk
Tracking Trichophyton tonsurans Through a Large Urban Child Care Center: Defining Infection Prevalence and Transmission Patterns by Molecular Strain Typing
Pediatrics, December 1, 2006; 118(6): 2365 - 2373.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. V. Williams, L. F. Eichenfield, B. L. Burke, M. Barnes-Eley, and S. F. Friedlander
Prevalence of Scalp Scaling in Prepubertal Children
Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 115(1): e1 - e6.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. Fleece, J. P. Gaughan, and S. C. Aronoff
Griseofulvin Versus Terbinafine in the Treatment of Tinea Capitis: A Meta-analysis of Randomized, Clinical Trials
Pediatrics, November 1, 2004; 114(5): 1312 - 1315.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
V. Sharma, N. B. Silverberg, R. Howard, C. T. Tran, T. A. Laude, and I. J. Frieden
Do Hair Care Practices Affect the Acquisition of Tinea Capitis?: A Case-Control Study
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, July 1, 2001; 155(7): 818 - 821.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
T. W. Hubbard
The Predictive Value of Symptoms in Diagnosing Childhood Tinea Capitis
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, November 1, 1999; 153(11): 1150 - 1153.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AAP Grand RoundsHome page
D. P. Krowchuk
Asymptomatic Tinea Capitis Carriers
AAP Grand Rounds, August 1, 1999; 2(2): 18 - 19.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
A. J. Pomeranz, S. S. Sabnis, G. J. McGrath, and N. B. Esterly
Asymptomatic Dermatophyte Carriers in the Households of Children With Tinea Capitis
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 1999; 153(5): 483 - 486.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 The Journal of School NursingHome page
B. J. Bradley, J. Beck, M. G. Mercurio, N. Heer Nicol, L. C. Wolfe, and N. M. Andreola
Tinea Capitis Today: What Nurses Need To Know About Identifying and Managing Fungal Infections of the Scalp in the School Setting
The Journal of School Nursing, October 1, 1996; 12(2_suppl): 1 - 15.
[Abstract] [PDF]