Athlete's Foot Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Athlete's Foot, including details on tinea, causes, treatment, prevention.

Clinico-mycological profile of dermatophytosis in a reference centre for leprosy and dermatological diseases in Addis Ababa.

Woldeamanuel Y, Leekassa R, Chryssanthou E, Mengistu Y, Petrini B

Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

To assess the clinical and fungal species spectrum of dermatophyte infection in a reference centre in Addis Ababa, 539 dermatological patients with signs of dermatophytosis were investigated. Seventy-one percent were female and 29% male, aged 2-66 years (median 9). Four hundred-fifteen (77%) had at least one skin lesion. Tinea capitis was diagnosed in 138/155 males (89%) as compared to 214/384 females (40%) (p < 0.05). T. capitis was diagnosed in 69% of the 374 children. Fingernails were affected in 132/145 (91%) of onychomycosis, 118 (90%) of these patients were females and 14 males (p < 0.05). Tinea corporis was observed in 45, and other types of tinea in 12 patients. Thirty-six percent of all patients had also other skin lesions, mostly impetigo. Of 490 cultured samples 364 (74%) grew dermatophytes: Trichophyton violaceum in 84%, Trichophyton verrucosum in 9.6%, Trichophyton tonsurans in 1.4% and T. rubrum in 0.5%. Additionally, 15 isolates were identified as white variants of T. violaceum, in 3 cases confirmed by sequencing of the rDNA ITS 2 region. T. capitis in young males and T. unguium of fingernails in females were the most common manifestations of dermatophytosis in Addis Ababa, usually caused by T.violaceum.

Published 16 February 2006 in Mycopathologia, 161(3): 167-72.
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