Mixed dermatophytic infections: a learning perspective and report of ten cases

Abstract

Background: Isolation of two or more than two pathogenic fungi from the same body site in a patient is considered as a rare entity and very few cases have been reported in literature. These types of infections are called as mixed/ combined fungal infections. Author are enumerating ten cases of superficial mycoses in which two different dermatophytes were grown from the same focus.Methods: From clinically suspected cases of dermatophytosis, skin and hair samples were collected from the affected sites and examined by standard mycological procedures. Microscopy was done by using 10% KOH wet mount. Culture was put on Sabouraud’s dextrose agar with cyclohexamide medium. Growth was identified by lactophenol cotton blue mount.Results: Mixed dermatophytes were obtained from tinea corporis (five cases), tinea capitis (four cases) and tinea cruris (one case) patients. Fungal combinations from given cases involved two different species of genus Trichophyton which were as follows: T. violaceum+T. tonsurans, T. verrucosum+T. tonsurans, T. violaceum (violet) and T. violaceum (white), T. mentagrophytes+T. Violaceum, T. rubrum+T. tonsurans, T. violaceum+T. rubrum, T. rubrum+T. mentagrophytes, T. verrucosum+T. mentagrophytes, T. mentagrophytes+T. tonsurans, Malassezia+T. mentagrophytes.Conclusions: Inspite of the frequent occurrence of dermatophytic infections worldwide, reports on mixed dermatophytes are very few. With proper sample collection and proper identification procedures, more cases can be identified and added to the existing literature.

Lactobacillus plantarum strain HT-W104-B1: potential bacterium isolated from Malaysian fermented foods for control of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum

“…These dermatophytes can be transmitted from human to human (antrophophilic organisms), soil to humans on contact (geophilic organisms) or via animals to humans (zoophilic organisms) (Hainer, 2003 ; AL-Khikani 2020 ). This is not a life-threatening disease, but the prevalence of people infected with dermatophytic fungi has been continuously increasing in many countries (Vena et al 2012 ; Kim et al 2016 ; Farag et al 2018 ; Singla et al 2019 ; Van et al 2019 ).…”