The Prevalence of skin Diseases among Pupils in Some Selected Primary Schools in Kano state, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the prevalence of some skin diseases among pupils in primary schools, in this case, class five students aged between 12 - 16 years were used. Skin diseases which include athlete's foot, ringworm and scabies which are common on African children were studied. A simple questionnaire The was designed and administered to each of the randomly selected pupils, in addition, the pupils were also interviewed to establish a relationship between their responses and what the interviewer gathered and observed from the pupils body as these diseases can be seen physically by the interviewer. Out of the 500 pupils sampled, one hundred and fourty seven (147) an equivalent of 24.9 % suffered from one or two of The medical name for athlete's foot caused by a fungus isTinea pedis. Athlete's foot is a common skin infection that affects the sole of the foot and the skin between the toes. It is usually a scaly, red, itchy eruption and occasionally may be weepy and oozing. It affects the feet of athletes and non-athletes alike. Although it is frequently caused by a fungal infection, other causes may be indistinguishable without proper testing (1).There are a variety of fungi that cause athlete's foot, and these can be contracted in many locations, including gyms, locker rooms, swimming pools, security lines, and from contaminated socks and clothing. The fungi can also be spread directly from person to person by contact. Most people acquire fungus on the feet from walking barefoot in areas where someone else with athlete's foot has walked. Some people are simply more prone to this condition while others seem relatively resistant to it. Another colorful name for this condition is "jungle rot," often used by members of the armed services serving in tropical climates(1). Scabies is a skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei. It is an infestation by the itch mite and it is highly contagious skin disease. The mites are small eight-legged parasites (in contrast to insects, which have six legs). They are tiny, just 1/3 millimeter long, and burrow into the skin to produce intense itching, which tends to be worse at night. The mites that infest humans are female and are 0.3 mm-0.4 mm long; the males are about half this size. Scabies mites can be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope. The scabies mites crawl but are unable to fly or jump. They are immobile at temperatures below 20 C, although they may survive for prolonged periods at these temperatures. Scabies infestation occurs worldwide and is very common. It has been estimated that, about 300 million cases occur worldwide each year. Human scabies has been reported for over 2,500 years. Scabies has been reported to occur in epidemics in nursing homes, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other institutions. In the U.S., it is seen frequently in the homeless population but occurs episodically in other populations of all socioeconomic groups as well (1).