Trichophyton rubrum tinea capitis in a young child

Dermatophytes and Dermatophytosis in Cluj-Napoca, Romania-A 4-Year Cross-Sectional Study

Dermatophytes are filamentous keratinophilic fungi which affect nails, skin, and hair. Their variable distribution in the world justifies local epidemiological studies. During recent decades, few studies have been published regarding the epidemiology and etiology of dermatophytosis in Romania. The aim of this study was to identify the dermatophytes isolated from superficial fungal infections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such study conducted in the area of North-Western Romania. Over the past four years, samples collected from outpatients with suggestive lesions for dermatophytoses (nails, skin, hair), who addressed several private practice dermatologists from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, were sent to a specialized laboratory and examined by microscopy and culture. A total of 350 samples from 322 patients were examined. One hundred samples (28.6%) collected from 90 patients (27.9%) were positive by direct microscopy and/or culture. Among the 63 positive cultures (18%), 44 dermatophytes (69.8%), 2 molds (3.2%), and 17 yeasts (27%) were isolated. The main dermatophyte species identified were Trichophyton rubrum (mostly from onychomycosis) and Microsporum canis (from tinea capitis and tinea corporis in children). Yeasts (Candida species) were isolated from nails, especially from women.

The survey of tinea capitis and scalp dermatophyte carriage in nursing home residents

Tinea capitis is a contagious dermatophyte infection of scalp and associated hairs. On the other hand, asymptomatic carriage is a status of positive dermatophyte scalp culture, but without signs or symptoms of tinea capitis, and no evidence of hair shaft invasion confirmed by direct microscopy. Tinea capitis and asymptomatic carriage mostly occur in children, but adult females are becoming another population in recent decades. In this study, we focused on the prevalence and related fungi of tinea capitis and asymptomatic carriage in elderly by the shampoo brush method, as well as the source of transmission, in 10 nursing home residents. Two hundred and thirteen residents were screened, and 186 isolates were identified, of which only three were dermatophytes (1.4%). The scalp dermatophyte isolates were identified as Trichophyton rubrum by morphological characters and sequences comparisons in all three cases. After revisiting, these cases were proved to be asymptomatic carriers by negative microscopic and culture examination; however, two cases were found to have concurrent tinea pedis and onychomycosis, which were identified as T. rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale. The source of the T. rubrum scalp carriage may come from tinea elsewhere on the body of the same subject or from other people in the same institute. Finding and treating the source of carriage, as well as treating scalp carriage patients according to the colony counts, may help prevent disease spreading.

Incidence of Tinea capitis in São Paulo, Brazil

To determine the incidence of tinea capitis in São Paulo, Brazil, an investigation was performed in Private and Public Pediatrics Service involving 4,500 children from 0 to 15 years old during 5 years (1996-2000). Samples were taken from 132 children with suspected fungal infection of the scalp, for direct microscopy and culture. Tinea of scalp was mycologically confirmed in 112 patients (85%). Males were more affected than females in all age groups. Children below 8 years old accounted for more than 75% of the occurrences. Only three cases of tinea capitis were diagnosed in children from 12 to 15 years of age. Tinea capitis was prevalent in 103 cases (91.96%); inflammatory kerion type lesions were diagnosed in 9 patients (8.04%). Microsporum canis (70.5%) and Trichophyton tonsurans (23.2%) were the most common agents followed by T. mentagrophytes (3.6%), M. gypseum (1.8%) and T. rubrum (0.9%).