Epidemiology and prevalence of superficial fungal infections among dormitory students in Tehran, Iran

Superficial fungal infections are one of the most prevalent skin diseases worldwide.According to clinical reports, dermatophytosis has been the most prevalent form ofsuperficial infections. It is well documented that the epidemiology of skin infectionsmight change over time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology andprevalence of superficial fungal infections in dormitory students living in Tehranprovince. For this purpose, a total of 1441 male students, living in the dorms wereinvestigated. The results showed that the prevalence and incidence of disease amongdormitory students living in Tehran were 9.16 and 2.77% respectively, whileTrichophyton rubrum was the most frequently isolated species (30.34%). Tinea cruris andTinea corporis were the dominant clinical forms of the disease. Furthermore, Malasseziaspecies accounted for 33.3% of infected cases. It could be concluded that although theprevalence of dermatophytosis is quite low among students but since this disease is highlycontagious, more attention should be made to prevent the occurrence of dermatophytosisamong dormitory students.