Ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitas), once thought under control in the United States, now affects up to 15 percent of children 5-10 years old and is increasingly seen in adults.
"Immigration patterns and greater travel worldwide is believed to have brought into the country new strains of the fungus that causes this highly contagious disease," says UAB dermatologist Boni Elewski, M.D. "Effective new treatments are now available, but school nurses and physicians need new understanding of how to use them in order to contain the spread of the disease and how to keep from stigmatizing children who contract the fungus."
Elewski chairs a consensus conference on the subject April 14 in Savannah.
Contact Hank Black, Media Relations, 205-934-8938 or [email protected].
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