A Clinical and Mycological Study of Dermatophytosis Associated with Animal Contact / 대한의진균학회지

BACKGROUND: Dematophytes are classified into geophilic, zoophilic and anthrophilic fungi, based on their ecological traits. Zoophilic dermatophytosis primarily is responsible for infection in animals, and the inflammatory reaction often tends to be more severe than skin lesions inflicted by anthrophilic species. For the clinical manifestation of superficial dermatophytosis caused by these zoophilic dermatophyte are highly variable, a through review of history about the contact with these animals is often solicited. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical and epidemiological zoophilic dermatophytosis associated with animal contact, in an effort to elucidate the link between the causative organism and the route of infection. METHOD: We performed clinical and mycological study on 63 cases of dermatophytosis associated with prior animal contact at the department of dermatology, Konkuk University Hospital from September 2004 to August 2005. RESULT: The ratio of male to female patient was 1: 1.17 and showed more prevalence in female. The age distribution of patients was highest in the age group of 10 years (22.2%). The exposed area (71.4%) was more frequently affected than unexposed area (28.6%) and the most common site was face and forearm. Single lesions were 41 cases (65.1%). Dogs, cats, and rabbits were the most common culprits in animal contact-associated dermatophytosis, each comprising 19, 15, and 10 respectively, of total cases. Hamsters, Guinea pigs, miniature pigs, and miscellaneous (cattles and birds) were among other causative animals. Twenty nine patients with dermatophytosis had accompanying diseases. In the age group of under 10 years old, 6 patients were being treated with atopic dermatitis; in the age group of under 40 yrs, 15 were being treated with diabetes, and 3 with pulmonary tuberculosis, and 1 with rheumatoid arthritis. These evidences support the fact that underlying conditions renders patients susceptible to opportunistic infections. In all age groups, M. canis and T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes were the most predominant species, with most of them in the age groups of teens and twenties. In patients who had contact with dogs, M. canis was recovered in 8 cases, T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes in 7 and M. gypseum in 3. In those patients who had contact with cats, M. canis was found in 6, and T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes in 3, M. gypseum in 2, and T. verrucosum in 1 case. In those who had contact with hamsters, 2 cases each of M. canis, T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes, and M. gypseum were recovered. CONCLUSION: As evidenced above, contact with specific animals play an important role in the pathogenesis of dermatomycosis. As the leisure and recreational activities of people become more diverse and more extensive, and as the influx of exotic domestic animals increases, and frequent contact with people from abroad makes the manifestation of this disease more complex, it would be wise for us to strive to come up with an effective strategy for prevention and epidemiological studies.

A Clinical and Mycological Study of Superficial Fungal Diseases (VIII) / 대한의진균학회지

BACKGROUND: Superficial fungal infections are common diseases in the dermatologic conditions. The prevalence of superficial fungal diseases is not static but change under the influence of various factors such as climate, migration of people, and development in prophylaxis and therapy. OBJECTIVE: The authors performed this study to investigate the present status of superficial dermatophytoses and some changes on the frequency of the diseases, sex distributions and varieties of the causative organisms. METHODS: The clinical and mycological study of superficial fungal diseases on 2,115 patients who had visited Department of Dermatology, University Hospital and Yongsan Hospital, College of Medicine, Chung Ang University between July 1992 and June 1994 were performed. RESULTS: 1) The incidence of superficial fungal diseases to total number of outpatients(8,048) was 26.3%(2,115 cases). 2) Superficial fungal diseases showed high incidence in fourth (22.3%), third(22.2%), and fifth decade(17.9%). 3) The ratio of male to female was 2.3:1(1,478:637). Especially in patients with tinea(T.) cruris, which was the most prominent disease showing male predominance, the sex ratio was 15.9:1. 4) The monthly prevalences of superficial fungal diseases were high in July(16.5%), June(13.1%), and August(12.3%), respectively 5) The incidence of each type of superficial fungal disease was the highest in T. pedis(21.4%), followed by T. cruris(17.6%), candidiasis(17.6%), T. corporis(13.5%), T. unguium(13.3%), T. versicolor(9.6%), T. manus(5.1%), and T. capitis(1.9%). 6) There were coexisting fungal infections in 426 patients(20.1%), and the case of T. pedis with T. unguium was the most common. 7) The positive rate of KOH scraping was 57.4% and the positive rate of culture on ordinary Sabouraud's dextrose agar media was 48.6%. 8) The most common cultured organism was Trichophyton(T.) rubrum(39.1%), followed by Candida species(34.6%), T. mentagrophytes(23.0%), Microsporum canis(2.0%), Epidermophyton floccosum(1.2%), and T. ferrugineum(0.2%). CONCLUSION: These results are not significantly different from those of previous studies. But the incidence of the superficial fungal diseases(26.3%) was higher than previous studies and showed a high incidence in young male patients and in warm season. The positive rate of KOH scraping(7.4%) was lower than previous studies. The most common causative organism was T. rubrum.

A Clinical and Mycological Study of Tinea Corporis / 대한피부과학회지

The clinical and mycological investigation was made with 68 cases of tinea corporis who had visited the Dermatologic Clinic of N.M.C. from Nov. 1985 to Oct. 1988. The results were as follows : 1. The ratio of male to female was 1.1: 1, and tinea corporis was most preva lent in the twenties. 2. 25 cases (36.8%) had a history of contact with infected animals or soil. 3. 75% of cases had less than 2 lesions. The exposed area was more frequently affected, and the face being the most frequent site. 4, Concurrent infection of tinea corporis with other types of dermatophytosis were noted in 33 cases (48.8%), and the most common was tinea pedis. 5. From the 68 cases, 49 organisms composed of 4 species were isolated, which were T. rubrum (32 cases), M. Canis (11 cases), T. mentagrophytes (5 cases) and M. gypseem (1 case). 6. Of the clinical variants of tinea corporis, the annular type was most comm only noted. No species specificity was noted in annular type, but T. rubrum was the major causative organism of eczematous and plaque type, and M. canis was the only isolated organism in herpetiform type. 7. As compared with other dermatophytes, M. canis was more commonly isolated from the smaller lesion.