ISOLATION OF DERMATOPHYTES AND OTHER KERATINOPHILIC FUNGI FROM, SURFACE SEDIMENTS OF THE SHATT AL-ARAB RIVER AND ITS CREEKS AT BASRA, IRAQ

Twenty-five sediment samples were taken from randomly selected sites i n the Shatt Al-Arab River and its creeks and analysed for dermatophyte s and related keratinophilic fungi. The results revealed that out of 2 5 samples only 13 (52%) yielded dermatophytes and related keratinophil ic fungi. A total of nine species in four genera were isolated. The mo st frequent genera isolated in this study were Chrysosporium and its t eleomorph Aphanoascus. The species most frequently found were Aphanoas cus fulvescens, A. durus, Chrysosporium crassitunicatum, Chr. keratino philum and Chr. tropicum (each n = 3). Microsporum was represented by two species, namely M. fulvum and M. Trichophyton was represented by o ne T. verrucosum. The occurrence of these fungi illustrates that sedim ents may act as a reservoir for potentially pathogenic fungi for human and animals.