Onychomycosis infections in the Middle Black Sea Region, Turkey

Background  Onychomycosis, a fungal infection of the nail, is caused by dermatophytes, yeasts, and nondermatophyte molds. The causative pathogen and incidence of onychomycosis depend on age, gender, geographic and climatic conditions, living habits, and immune status of the host. Aim  To determine t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Dermatology 2009-09, Vol.48 (9), p.956-959
Main Authors: Yenişehirli, Gülgün, Bulut, Yunus, Sezer, Engin, Günday, Ebru
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Dermatology
Epidermophyton floccosum
Female
Human mycoses
Humans
Incidence
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Mycoses
Mycoses of the skin
Onychomycosis - epidemiology
Onychomycosis - microbiology
Trichophyton mentagrophytes
Trichophyton rubrum
Trichophyton verrucosum
Turkey - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Background  Onychomycosis, a fungal infection of the nail, is caused by dermatophytes, yeasts, and nondermatophyte molds. The causative pathogen and incidence of onychomycosis depend on age, gender, geographic and climatic conditions, living habits, and immune status of the host. Aim  To determine the incidence and etiologic agents of onychomycosis in the Middle Black Sea Region, Turkey. Methods  Two hundred and seventy‐six specimens were collected from patients with suspected onychomycosis during January 2004 to May 2008. Results  Culture positivity was obtained in 240 of the 276 samples. Dermatophytes were isolated in 225 samples. The most common causative agent of onychomycosis was Trichophyton rubrum (91) (38%), followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (49) (20.4%), Epidermophyton floccosum (41) (17%), and Trichophyton verrucosum (34) (14.2%). Seven isolates were identified as yeasts (2.9%). Nondermatophyte molds were isolated from eight samples (3.3%). Conclusions  This survey reveals that the etiologic agents of onychomycosis in our area show large discrepancies from those in other regions of Turkey and Europe.
ISSN:0011-9059
1365-4632
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04126.x