Tinea capitis in Europe: new perspective on an old problem

Abstract

A survey of tinea capitis conducted under the auspices of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology showed that laboratories contributing to a voluntary scheme for reporting have recently been seeing a different pattern of scalp ringworm. The survey was conducted among 92 medical mycology laboratories across 19 European countries by postal questionnaire comparing the years 1987 with 1997. The survey shows an overall increase in the numbers of cases caused by anthropophilic infections, which, in 1997, were the dominant causes of scalp infection; the greatest increase was seen in laboratories covering urban populations and in African Caribbean children living in Europe. While the commonest infection remains Microsporum canis, the largest overall increase has been in Trichophyton tonsurans, which in 1997 was the second commonest cause of infection overall and the commonest in urban populations. The pattern of change is not uniform in Europe and while some cities have reported large increases in T. tonsurans others, e.g. in France, have seen more cases of infection due to T. soudanense and M. audouinii. While these figures do not necessarily reflect changes in the underlying prevalence of infection, the trends are important to recognize as the control measures for anthropophilic tinea capitis differ from those used in zoophilic infections. In particular there is a need for an increased level of surveillance and more advice on control given to primary care physicians, dermatologists and school health authorities.

Successful Identification of Clinical Dermatophyte and Neoscytalidium Species by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

“…While our database includes fingerprints of the more relevant species of dermatophytes involved in cases of human infections, some important species are missing, such as Microsporum audouinii, M. gypseum, M. praecox, M. ferrugineum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. schoenleinii, and T. verrucosum. Indeed, we have chosen to develop an identification system including the species most prevalent in our clinical practice, such as T. soudanense and M. langeronii, which are species frequently isolated from patients with tinea capitis in France (2,18,19). However, this database can be easily updated according to the local epidemiology.…”

Tinea capitis in Brussels: Epidemiology and New Management Strategy

“…After the 1950s, the zoophilic M. canis gained the first place [5]. Since the eighties, the majority of TC found in large cities was due to anthropophilic dermatophytes imported by immigrant families: mostly T. soudanense and M. langeronii in Paris and mostly T. tonsurans in London and in the largest USA cities [5, 6, 7]. Since the nineties, anthropophilic species represented 93–94% of TC in Paris [5].…”

Lupus-erythematosus-Like Eruption Induced by <i>Trichophyton mentagrophytes</i> Infection

“…Many surveys of tinea capitis conducted during the last 10 years show an overall increase in the number of cases in many European countries and in the USA [3, 4, 5, 6]. In relationship with immigration, the occurrence of anthropophilic dermatophyte infections rose during the last decade, and they tend to become the leading cause of tinea capitis in large urban English or French areas – species involved are Microsporum langeronii and Trichophyton soudanense in France, and Trichophyton tonsurans in the UK [7].…”