Background Skin diseases are common human illnesses globally. Improved diagnostic skills of health staff working in underserved communities may uncover a wide range of diseases, including skin Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Integrated skin screening is an approach used in PEP4LEP, a research project in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania that is aimed at identifying the most effective and feasible method for screening people at risk of developing leprosy and administering chemoprophylaxis. We present preliminary results on the skin diseases and their frequency patterns as found during integrated skin screening in communities in three Tanzanian districts.

Methods Data on the skin diseases identified and the frequency of diagnosis were collected in the skin camps that took place in Morogoro, Mvomero, and Lindi districts in Tanzania as part of the PEP4LEP study

Results A total of 7,721 participants were screened from July 2020 to January 2023 in 74 skin camps, 4,871 (63.1%) had skin conditions. A total of 77 (1.0%) contacts were newly diagnosed with leprosy. Frequently detected skin diseases were: tinea capitis (2,230 cases, 29.0%), pityriasis versicolor (1,173, 15.2%), and atopic dermatitis (610, 7.9%). Apart from leprosy, other diagnosed skin NTDs included: scabies (695, 9.0%), and onchocerciasis (54, 0.7%). These findings are preliminary as recruitment is still ongoing, an in-depth analysis is expected towards the end of the project.

Conclusion Integrated skin screening in community skin health interventions contributes to reducing the barriers to the identification and management of skin conditions, including skin NTDs like leprosy.

This project was supported by the EDCTP2 program under Horizon 2020 (grant number RIA2017NIM-1839-441 PEP4LEP). The project also received funding from the Leprosy Research Initiative (LRI; www.leprosyresearch.org, grant number 707.19.58). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the abstract.