ISSN 2736-1756
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2012
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2012 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Trichophyton rubrum – the predominant etiological agent in human dermatophytoses in Chennai, India
G. Venkatesan1*, A. J. A. Ranjit Singh1, A. G. Murugesan2, C. Janaki3 and S. Gokul Shankar4
1Sri Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi, India
2Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environmental Studies, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, India
3Mycology Section, Department of Dermatology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, India.
4R and D Center, Cholayil Private Limited, Chennai, India.
Accepted 07 May, 2012
Abstract
The present study was undertaken to find the predominant etiological agent of dermatophytoses among the patients attending the outpatient clinic of Mycology Section, Department of Dermatology, Madras Medical College and Hospital, Chennai. Specimens were collected from suspected patients with dermatophytoses and examined for the presence of fungal elements, cultured, isolated and identified. Among the 90 suspected patients with clinical symptoms of dermatophytoses, 71 (78.9%) were confirmed in culture. Trichophyton genus was accounted for 93% of dermatophytoses, which was shared by Trichophyton rubrum (73.3%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (19.7%), followed by Epidermophyton floccosum (4.2%) and Microsporum gypseum (2.8%). It was noted that tinea corporis (64.8%) is the most prevalent infection followed by tinea cruris (26.8%), tinea pedis (5.6%) and onychomycoses (2.8%). T. rubrum was the predominant species responsible for the dermatophytoses, especially tinea corporis in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. In addition it was also observed that T. rubrum was most predominant species responsible for the chronic dermatophytoses (81.8%). Further work is in progress to understand the protease profile of the isolates with relation to the chronisity of the infection.
Key words: Dermatophytoses, Dermatophytes, Tinea, Trichophyton and Skin infections.