Incidence of dermatophytes school soils of Visakhapatnam: A case study

In India a number of reports have appeared concerning the distribution of dermatophytes from various habits. However, there are very few reports on the occurrence and distribution of dermatophytes in soils of India. Keeping in view the microbiological and pathological importance of dermatophytes the present study was planned to find out their distribution in selected school soils of Visakhapatnam. Dermatophytes and closely related species were represented by 12 species, Microsporum audouinii (43.75%) was reported all soil samples. Based on the findings it may be concluded that unhygienic soil of schools may be considered as a health risk to children. Therefore measures to enhance hygienic condition should be taken to control the diffusion of dermatophytes in these Environments.