DERMATOPHYTOSES IN CRETE, GREECE, BETWEEN 1992 AND 1996

Pathological specimens from 1361 patients with clinical manifestations of dermatophytosis from the island of Crete, Greece, were examined fo r dermatophytes during a 5-year period (1992-96). Dermatophytes of the genus Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton were isolated from 327 (24%) of the patients. Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequentl y isolated dermatophyte accounting for 44.4% of the strains, followed by M. canis (25%), T. mentagrophytes var. interdigitale (14.4%) and E. floccosum (7.6%). Less frequent isolates included T. mentagrophytes ( 3.4%), T. violaceum (3.1%), T. verrucosum (1.8%) and M. gypseum (0.3%) . An analysis of the distribution and frequency of the dermatophytes a ccording to the cutaneous area affected and the sex of the patients is also reported.