DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i11.029

Pages: 3634-3640

Background /objectives: Scabies a skin infestation which has been included by World Health organization in the list of neglected tropical diseases is one of the commonest debilitating dermatological conditions affecting tribal school children in central India. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on primary and secondary schoolchildren in a remote tribal area of Ramtek Taluka in Central India. A predesigned questionnaire was used for data collection from all of available tribal school children, and a thorough clinical dermatological examination was done to look for scabies and co-morbid conditions. Results: Out of 585 school attendees only 400 children were studied, there were 100 cases of scabies with a prevalence of 25%. The prevalence of scabies infestation in female students was 37%, while it was 63% in males respectively, which was found highly statistically significant. The results showed significant variations in the risk of scabies infestation by factors such as demographic co-relates, habits such poor general hygiene, co-morbid conditions, night itch, secondary infection etc. were found to be highly significant with p value <0.001, where as type of housing, type of community, sharing bed or clothes with others or even bathing, sun-drying clothes and use of soap had no significant effect. Conclusion: In our rural tribal communities, scabies is an extremely important health problem affecting school children, especially in remote areas. It is a complex mesh work of causation, enhanced by poor awareness, appalling living conditions in residential schools and low level of general hygiene.