Bitew, Adane (MSc, PhD)Yilma, Betelhem2021-05-232023-11-062021-05-232023-11-062021-02http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/26519Background: In the past decades, scalp ringworm or Tinea Capitis has become a major public health problem affecting the developing countries. Tinea Capitis is a fungal infection that predominantly affected scalp and hair shafts. The distribution, epidemiology, frequency, clinical manifestations, and target hosts varies location to location. According to various studies, Tinea Capitis has been affecting mostly school age children. This harms the psychological and emotional aspects of those children lives. Objective: The objective of our study was to determine the extent of Tinea Capitis and spectrum of dermatophyte and non-dermatophyte molds implicated in causing fungal infection. Material and Methods: A prospective non-randomized study was conducted at Rank Higher Specialized Dermatology Clinic, from February 2019 to July 2019. A total of 364 study participants were collected by convenient sampling techniques. For this study, sociodemographic data was collected. Then fungal pathogen from Scalp Scraped samples was identified by using KOH microscopic examination. Those samples were inoculated on to mycological culture media. All inoculated plates were incubated at appropriate temperature for at least for four weeks. Fungi were identified based on their microscopic, macroscopic and cultural characteristics. The sample data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 23 software. Results: In our study, the overall prevalence of Tinea Capitis 301/364(82.7%). Dermatophytes were isolated in136 (45.2%) and the most frequent pathogen was Trichophyton violaceum followed by non-dermatophyte molds 121 (40.2%)Aspergillus fumigatus was the most common species and mixed infections were observed in 44 (14.6%)cases. Among 301 positive subjects the predominant age group 1-14(84.4%)years followed by25-44 (10%). Conclusion: High prevalence of Tinea Capitis infection with Trichophyton violaceum was the predominant etiological agent in this study. This shows that Tinea Capitis is still a public health problem. There is a need for public awareness of the problem and develop a capacity for personal hygiene.en-USTinea Capitis, Dermatophytes, non-dermatophytes, prevalenceThesis