Scabies is a major neglected tropical disease affecting children in deprived communities like Ethiopia. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of Sarcoptes scabiei infestation among Ethiopian children under 15 years. Studies were sourced from PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and African Journals Online through a systematic search, following PRISMA-2020 guidelines. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s tool was used to appraise study quality. A random-effects model was used for analysis. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess heterogeneity using I² statistics. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger’s test. A total of 9,126 children from 14 studies were included, with a pooled prevalence of 14.94% (95% CI: 11.32–18.57). Being male, having a family size of more than five members, children with an education level below grade five, history of sharing clothes within the family, infrequent washing of clothes, lack of formal family education, poor family wealth or income status, using unimproved water sources, personal hygiene issues like untrimmed fingernails, sharing clothes with individuals diagnosed with scabies, poor knowledge about scabies among family members or caregivers, history of contact with individuals experiencing skin itching or scabies, sharing common sleeping beds or fomites, washing hands with water only, having family members with signs of itching or scabies, and infrequent bathing were factors significantly associated with Sarcoptes scabiei infestation among children under the age of 15 in Ethiopia. Therefore, policymakers and health planners should put a great deal of emphasis on the implementation of relevant prevention and control measures.
Girma et al. (Wed,) studied this question.