Superficial mycoses are the fungal infections restricted to the outermost non-living layers of the skin and its appendages viz., hair and nails. Their prevalence rate has been reported to be 20%-25% 1 and vary with respect to occupational groups, gender, age group, etc. These infections are more common in tropical as well as subtropical countries where heat, humidity and other favourable conditions aid in their acquisition and maintenance. Although superficial mycotic infections are usually limited to the skin and mucous membranes, these infections are hardly life-threatening but they have importance because of their worldwide distribution, morbidity and transmission from one person/animal to another.Over the last decades, it has been observed that an increasing number of non-dermatophytic fungi, like, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Penicillium, Scopulariopsis and Trichosporon, have also emerged as causal agents of superficial mycoses in humans, producing almost clinically similar lesions as caused by dermatophytes. 2,3 Although both dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes have been known to cause superficial mycoses all over the world, their incidence, distribution, prevalence, epidemiology, clinical manifestation and target hosts may vary from region to region. 4,5 In this review, more emphasis has been provided on information related to skin and hair infections.
Background A growing number of non‐dermatophytic moulds and yeasts with the ability to act as human pathogens are reported every year. Dematiaceous fungi cause phaeohyphomycosis which encompasses a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from superficial (cutaneous and subcutaneous) to disseminated infections. Such fungal infections are responsible for causing significant morbidity and mortality, frequently in immunocompromised patients and rarely in immunocompetent patients. Objectives To investigate the prevalence of cutaneous mycosis in Jammu district (India) and to isolate and identify the recovered causal agents from the affected skin of the patients. Methods For direct microscopy, 10% KOH was used. Skin samples were collected carefully from the affected areas of suspected patients, followed by the isolation and identification of the causal agents by cultural examination, morphological examination and ITS sequencing. Results Herein, we report and describe three new cases of cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis from District Jammu of Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir, India. The age of the patients under study ranged from 17 to 42 years and the duration of infection from 1 to 2 years. The etiological agents that were recovered from the patients under study were Alternaria alstromeriae, Epicoccum tritici and Phialemonium obovatum. These dematiaceous fungal species were isolated from the skin specimen of immunocompetent hosts. Conclusion Among the three isolated etiological agents, two (Alternaria alstromeriae, Epicoccum tritici) represent new global records and one (Phialemonium obovatum) new record to India as causal agents of cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis. Careful microscopic and mycological examination form the basis of correct diagnosis of such fungal infections in the absence of simple and reliable laboratory tests (serologic or antigen tests).
Resistance in micro-organisms against antimicrobial compounds is an emerging phenomenon in the modern era as compared to the traditional world which brings new challenges to discover novel antimicrobial compounds from different available sources, such as, medicinal plants, various micro-organisms, like, bacteria, fungi, algae, actinomycetes, and endophytes. Endophytes reside inside the plants without exerting any harmful impact on the host plant along with providing ample of benefits. In addition, they are capable of producing diverse antimicrobial compounds similar to their host, allowing them to serve as useful micro-organism for a range of therapeutic purposes. In recent years, a large number of studies on the antimicrobial properties of endophytic fungi have been carried out globally. These antimicrobials have been used to treat various bacterial, fungal, and viral infections in humans. In this review, the potential of fungal endophytes to produce diverse antimicrobial compounds along with their various benefits to their host have been focused on. In addition, classification systems of endophytic fungi as well as the need for antimicrobial production with genetic involvement and some of the vital novel antimicrobial compounds of endophytic origin can further be utilized in the pharmaceutical industries for various formulations along with the role of nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents have been highlighted.
Superficial mycosis, a common fungal infection affecting people worldwide are prevalent in the tropical and subtropical countries, mostly caused by the dermatophytes but nowadays, there is an increase in the incidence of these infections being caused by non-dermatophytic fungi and yeasts. Among non-dermatophytes, Bipolaris species, usually known to cause diseases in plants, have also emerged as potent human pathogens in the past years. Reports on Bipolaris species associated with clinical human skin samples are rare worldwide with no reports on B. cynodontis as a causal agent of superficial human skin mycoses from India. We report the first case of superficial mycosis caused by B. cynodontis that affected the feet of a 19-year-old female student from Jammu district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Thus, the causal agent described in the research communication constitutes a new addition to the list of pathogenic non-dermatophytes associated with human skin.
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