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. | ||||||||
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Isolation of Trichophyton concentricum from chronic cutaneous lesions in patients from the Solomon Islands.Pihet M, Bourgeois H, Mazière JY, Berlioz-Arthaud A, Bouchara JP, Chabasse D Laboratoire de Parasitologie–Mycologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 4 rue Larrey, 49933 Angers Cedex 9, France; Groupe d’Etude des Interactions Hôte-Pathogène, UPRES-EA 3142, Université d’Angers, France. Tinea imbricata, also known as 'Tokelau', is an uncommon superficial mycosis caused by the anthropophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton concentricum. Cutaneous lesions appear characteristically as scaly and concentric rings that may cover all parts of the body. Often acquired in childhood, tinea imbricata is a chronic disease and lichenification is extremely common due to pruritus. The dermatophytosis mainly occurs in the South Pacific, but also in some regions of Southeast Asia and Central or South America. Tinea imbricata usually affects people living in primitive and isolated conditions. Mycological analysis is required for the diagnosis. The epidemiological and mycological study reported here took place in the Solomon Islands from June-September 2006. Skin scrapings were collected from 29 Melanesian patients (aged 8 months to 58 years) with chronic cutaneous lesions and were analysed mycologically in the Laboratory of Parasitology and Mycology of Angers University Hospital (France). Ten patients showed very evocative lesions with a positive direct examination, but T. concentricum was only isolated from three patients. Identification of the strains was confirmed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. With the increase in international travel, one cannot disregard that this very rare species may be isolated by mycologists in temperate areas from patients coming from endemic foci. Published 14 March 2008 in Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 102(4): 389-393.
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