Tinea capitis in a Moslem school.

Tinea capitis is endemic in south India. The commonest agent responsible is Trichophyton violaceum. In 1978 21 cases of tinea capitis were found in a residential school for Moslem boys in Purasawalkam Madras. Trauma to the scalp caused by a ritual shaving was found to be the cause of the number of cases. The boys aged 10-17 years had as their religious custom a shave on their scalp once a month. The razors were just washed in soap and water. All boys were shaved at the same time by the same barber. Profuse scaling and abundant fungal elements indicate the repeated trauma of the shave. The noninflammatory nature of the infection clinically and the relatively low incidence of the tinea glabrosa were of interest. Therapy with griseofulvin was found to be effective.