Skin diseases among peacekeepers at United Nations and African Mission in Darfur

Objective To determine the frequency and pattern of cutaneous diseases among peacekeepers at a tertiary care hospital in United Nations and African Mission in Darfur, Sudan. Methods This descriptive study was conducted at dermatology outpatient department of United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) level III Hospital at Darfur, Sudan from March 2014 to Feb 2015. Peacekeepers of both gender reporting to dermatology OPD were registered after informed consent. Patients’ demographic profile, nature of duty, disease diagnosis and duration of illness were noted. The data was managed and analyzed using SPSS-17. Results A total of 542 peacekeepers of the age ranging from 20-60 years were analyzed. Eczema    was  the  most  common  disease  (38.7%),  followed  by  fungal  infections  (22.5%)  and acne (10.7%). 47.6% of  patients had the disease before deployment in mission area and 52.4% developed after reaching in mission area. Conclusion Eczema, dermatophytosis and acne were the commonest skin problems among peacekeeper. Almost half of these had dermatological problems before deployment.