RIYADH: A peculiar skin disease attacked male and female students in schools in the Eastern part of Riyadh, senior official from the Ministry of Health announced here on Thursday.

The victims included four male and two female students besides a male security guard and two female security guards of the school.

In response to a complaint by citizens, a team from the Public Health Directorate of Health Affairs in Riyadh visited the schools and identified the disease as tinea capitis, which is a common disorder among children, particularly in the prepubertal stage.

Tinea capitis occurs worldwide with prevalences that vary geographically and demographically. Studies in the United States have revealed that tinea capitis is common in African-American children. The reason for this is unknown. Theories to explain this observation have included effects of socioeconomic factors or differences in genetic susceptibility.





An official said the Ministry of Health has taken all preventive and curative measures against the disease and its team would ensure follow-up action in the affected schools, as well as in other institutions in the neighborhood.

He said that the disease (tinea capitis) is the result of a fungal infection of the scalp and in the hair roots, causing itchy feeling and peeling off of the skin, hair loss. However, and its effects are limited to the scalp.

The fungus that causes the infectious disease easily spreads among children through direct contact and can infect adults as well as animals.

To prevent the disease, the official said, one must maintain personal hygiene such as washing one’s head with shampoo regularly and refraining from using common things such as towel and comb. People have also been requested to abstain from touching infected animals.

Oral antifungal therapy is the primary treatment for tinea capitis. Patients usually respond well to treatment.