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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection of keratinized tissue caused by dermatophytes. The dermatophytes are included in three fungal genera: Epidermophyton, Microsporum, and Trichophyton. The infections caused by dermatophytes are known as ringworm or tinea infections. Although there are increasing numbers of antifungals available for the treatment of dermatophytes, some cases and relapses have been unresponsive to treatment. The aim and objectives of the present study are to identify the dermatophyte species causing superficial fungal infections and study their susceptibility to antifungals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 clinically diagnosed cases of dermatophytosis of patients attending the dermatology outdoor patient department were studied. The samples of these patients were collected and processed for microscopic examination and fungal culture. The causative dermatophytes were isolated and identified. Antifungal susceptibility testing of dermatophytes was done by Epsilometer strip minimum inhibitory concentration method against antifungal agents - fluconazole, itraconazole, and terbinafine. RESULTS: The most common clinical presentation in patients found was tinea corporis. Maximum dermatophyte isolates obtained on culture were Trichophyton rubrum. On antifungal susceptibility testing, terbinafine showed good results compared to azoles. CONCLUSION: Antifungal susceptibility testing of dermatophytes could be performed to study response and assist clinicians in choosing an effective therapy for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermatophyte fungi are a common cause of skin, nail and hair infections globally, ranging from mild to cosmetically disfiguring, or even invasive infections in rare cases. Specimens requiring fungal microscopy and culture for suspected dermatophyte infection make up a significant portion of the workload in diagnostic microbiology laboratories. Whilst still considered the gold standard, a dermatophyte culture-based method is labour intensive, has poor sensitivity, slow result turnaround time and requires significant expertise for identification of the fungi. Molecular diagnostics, especially real time PCR, have the potential to improve diagnostic sensitivity, reduce labour requirements and decrease result turnaround times. Despite these advantages, a PCR-based approach may present some difficulties and disadvantages, most notably its diagnostic range and incompatibility with oral therapy prescribing requirements under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Here we review current best practices and future prospects for laboratory diagnosis of dermatophyte infections, including the role of microscopy, culture and direct PCR.

Background: Dermatophytosis still remains a major public health concern worldwide, particularly in developing countries. This study was undertaken to determine the etiological and epidemiological factors of dermatophyte infections in Tehran, Iran. Methods: A total of 1530 patients clinically suspected of cutaneous fungal infections were examined in two hospitals over a period of 10 years (2010--2020). Samples were analyzed using direct microscopic examination and culture. Data regarding age, gender, and clinical manifestations were also recorded. Results: Out of 1530 cases examined, dermatophytes were detected in 493 (32.2%) patients. Of these patients, 288 (58.4%) were males and 205 (41.6%) were females. The most affected age group was the 25--44 years old (31.6%). Tinea corporis (n = 134) was the most prevalent type of ringworm, followed by tinea cruris (n = 131), tinea pedis (n = 90), tinea manuum (n = 65), tinea unguium (n = 29), tinea faciei (n = 20), tinea capitis (n = 18), and tinea barbae (n = 2). Both tinea cruris (P < 0.001) and tinea pedis (P = 0.002) had a significant association with male gender. As for etiological agents, Trichophyton mentagrophytes (29.0%) was the most frequent isolate, followed by Trichophyton tonsurans (25.8%), Trichophyton rubrum (25.3%), Epidermophyton floccosum (6.9%), Trichophyton verrucosum (4.9%), Microsporum audouinii (4.5%), Microsporum canis (2.0%), and Trichophyton violaceum (1.6%). Conclusion: Dermatophytes are still the prevailing causes of fungal infection of the skin, hair, and nails in Iran. Further studies with larger samples sizes and inclusion of diverse locations would yield more accurate results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermatophytes constitute an infection source for both animals and humans, representing zoonosis. The objective of this work was carry out an updated review on dermatophytes general characteristics, the clinical aspects of each infected animal species and their zoonotic potential. For this, all the published information available in PudMed database was compiled. This review describes the worldwide distribution of disease caused by dermatophytes, the zoonotic behavior of the disease, the physiopathogenic characteristics, linked to the host's immune response and oxidative stress behavior in bovine trichophytosis. On the other hand, the dermatophytes classification, different diagnostic methods, the macro and micro characteristics of the colonies of dermatophytes and their differentiation are exposed. It also addresses the form transmission of the disease and clinical aspects of disease in some animal species, including humans. Concluding that dermatophytes constitute a zoonosis, of great importance at present, therefore, they should be object of epidemiological surveillance considering the term of a single health. On the other hand, it is important to consider the economic losses caused by the infestation in cattle specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A decreasing trend in tinea cruris caused by Epidermophyton floccosum, an anthropophilic dermatophyte, has been observed., Methods: This retrospective study involved Thai naval cadets aged 18 years or older with suspected groin lesions. Both clinical evaluations and laboratory investigations were conducted., Results: In total, 86 male participants with a median age of 19 years who presented with groin rash were enrolled in the study. Branching septate hyphae from KOH examination were found in 55 patients (64.0 %). Fungal identifications were Epidermophyton floccosum (42 cases; 76.4 %), Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex (3 cases; 5.5 %), and no growth (10 cases; 18.2 %). An E. floccosum outbreak was identified, with a prevalence of 76.4 %. Most lesions exhibited admixed erythema and hyperpigmentation. Approximately two-thirds displayed prominent, easily visible scaling. Scrotal involvement was absent in 95.2 % of lesions, with 87.2 % presenting bilaterally. A gradual symptom onset lasting up to 2 months was observed in 78.9 % of cases. Lesion morphologies included annular (73.8 %), patchy (14.3 %), and polycyclic (9.5 %). Severe itching disrupting daily activities was reported by only 7.1 % of participants. Approximately two-thirds used over-the-counter (OTC) topical medications without consulting a physician. Risk factors related to clothing included sharing clothes (59.5 %), wearing sweaty clothes (100 %), and reusing unwashed clothes (81.0 %)., Conclusions: The E. floccosum tinea cruris outbreak among naval cadets was characterized by a gradual onset and mild symptoms. OTC medication use without physician consultation was prevalent., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare that there are no personal or professional conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 SFMM. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Epidermophyton floccosum (E. floccosum), an anthropophilic dermatophyte, is the primary causative agent of skin conditions such as tinea cruris, tinea pedis and tinea corporis., Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of E. floccosum-induced dermatophytosis, with particular emphasis on the types of infections and demographic profiles., Methods: In this retrospective study, patient records from the dermatology outpatient clinic were scrutinized, covering the timeframe from January 2009 to December 2020. Eligibility for the study required a dermatophytosis diagnosis verified by microscopic examination and fungal culture., Results: Of the 4669 confirmed dermatophytosis cases, 82 (1.8%) were attributable to E. floccosum infection. The proportions of male and female patients with E. floccosum infections were 50.0% each. The most common presentation was tinea pedis (39.0%), followed by tinea cruris (37.8%) and tinea corporis (26.8%). The mean age at disease onset for tinea cruris was 38.7 ± 18.7 years, which was lower than that for tinea pedis (50.6 ± 14.2 years) and tinea corporis (53.5 ± 16.4 years). However, these age differences were not statistically significant. A continuous decrease in E. floccosum isolation was observed over the study period., Conclusions: There was a steady decline in the prevalence of E. floccosum dermatophytosis over the 12-year study period. Despite the decreasing trend, tinea cruris, tinea corporis and tinea pedis remained the predominant clinical manifestations of E. floccosum infection., (© 2024 The Authors. Mycoses published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: Epidermophyton floccosum is an anthrophophilic dermatophyte widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. It can invade keratinized tissues of humans and cause superficial mycoses called dermatophytosis (ringworm)., Objective: The main objective of this study was to develop an in-house indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and to evaluate its performance for the immunological diagnosis of E. floccosum infection in humans., Methods: An in-house indirect ELISA was developed using partially purified E. floccosum antigens, pre immunized rabbit serum as negative control, immunized rabbit polyclonal antibodies as positive control, enzyme labeled goat anti rabbit antibodies and goat anti human antibodies. A total of 50 serum samples from E. floccosum infected patients as confirmed by direct microscopy and culture and 30 samples from humans without history of dermatophyte infection that served as controls were used to evaluate the performance of an in-house indirect ELISA developed in this study. Analytical and diagnostic performance characteristics were determined to evaluate its diagnostic value., Results: The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of E. floccosum indirect ELISA were 90.00 %, 83.33 %, 90.83 %, 83.83 % respectively. The performance of indirect ELISA assay was compared with gold standard diagnostic tests such as KOH hydrolysis test and fungal culture. The correlation coefficients of E. floccosum indirect ELISA with KOH hydrolysis and fungal culture method were 0.612 ** and 0.826 ** (P < 0.01) respectively indicating significant correlation between these tests., Conclusion: This revealed the great potentiality of E. floccosum indirect ELISA in early, specific and precise detection of E. floccosum infection in humans., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The Arthrodermataceae, or dermatophytes, are a major family in the Onygenales and important from a public health safety perspective. Here, based on sequenced and downloaded from GenBank sequences, the evolutionary relationships of Arthrodermataceae were comprehensively studied via phylogenetic reconstruction, divergence time estimation, phylogenetic split network, and phylogeography analysis. These results showed the clades Ctenomyces, Epidermophyton, Guarromyces, Lophophyton, Microsporum, Paraphyton, and Trichophyton were all monophyletic groups, whereas Arthroderma and Nannizzia were polyphyletic. Among them, Arthroderma includes at least four different clades, Arthroderma I, III and IV are new clades in Arthrodermataceae. Nannizzia contains at least two different clades, Nannizzia I and Nannizzia II, but Nannizzia II was a new clade in Arthrodermataceae. The unclassified group, distributed in Japan and India, was incorrectly identified; it should be a new clade in Arthrodermataceae. The phylogenetic split network based on the ITS sequences provided strong support for the true relationships among the lineages in the reconstructed phylogenetic tree. A haplotype phylogenetic network based on the ITS sequences was used to visualize species evolution and geographic lineages relationships in all genera except Trichophyton. The new framework provided here for the phylogeny and taxonomy of Arthrodermataceae will facilitate the rapid identification of species in the family, which should useful for evaluating the results of preventive measures and interventions, as well as for conducting epidemiological studies., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Dermatophyte infections are widespread worldwide and are the most prevalent cause of fungal infection of the skin, hair, and nails. Tinea corporis is most commonly caused by dermatophytes belonging to three genera: Trichophyton , Microsporum , and Epidermophyton. The disease may be acquired through person-to-person transmission, typically by direct communication with an infected individual. Since dermatophytes causing tinea corporis infection are restricted to superficial keratinized tissue, topical treatments are most effective in patients with naïve tinea corporis unless the disease is widespread. Dermatophyte adherence to a keratinized structure is an essential step in dermatophytosis pathogenesis, whereby proteolytic enzyme activity is converted into a particular keratolytic activity that encourages the dermatophyte to use keratin as the sole source of carbon. Despite increasing dermatophytosis worldwide, particularly in the tropics, this research has often been neglected, appears to predominate globally, and presents practitioners with a therapeutic challenge. However, experts supported the use of allylamines in the pleiotropic molecular exploration of azoles, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) inducer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and wide-spectrum antimycotic effects. Therefore, the current review aims to update and reform this essential subject and illustrate the recent advancement of the hidden pleiotropic activity of azoles at the molecular level on dermatophytes in human tinea corporis infection., (Copyright © 2022 SFMM. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)