The prevalence of scabies, pyoderma and other communicable dermatoses in the Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau

A significant burden of communicable skin diseases, including scabies and pyoderma, was found among children in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. Tinea capitis emerged as the most prevalent condition, affecting 14.5% of children during the dry season and 24.7% during the wet season. The study employed robust population-based cluster random sampling to assess disease prevalence across two seasons, revealing substantial seasonal variation in dermatoses. These findings underscore the need for integrating common dermatoses into Universal Health Coverage to address skin health disparities in low- and middle-income settings.

Marks, M., Sammut, T., Cabral, M. G., Teixeira da Silva, E., Goncalves, A., Rodrigues, A., Manjuba, C., Nakutum, J., Ca, J., D’Alessandro, U., Achan, J., Logan, J., Bailey, R., Mabey, D., Last, A., & Walker, S. L. (2019). The prevalence of scabies, pyoderma and other communicable dermatoses in the Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 13(11), e0007820. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007820