Myco-epidemiologic and genetic study of dermatophytosis and non-dermatophytes in Middle Euphrates, Iraq

Dermatophytes are the most prevalent infections in human and animals. These infections can cause disease in all age groups and sexes. The objective of this study was to assess the age and sex prevalence, the site of involvement of different kinds of dermatophytes and an evolutionary study of cross sections type in a private clinic patients attended in Middle Euphrates provinces of Iraq (Babylon, Najaf, Dewania and Karbala) in order to prevent and cure these complications. To survey the dermatophytosis, request forms were prepared to evaluate data like age, sex, profession, site of the lesions, the type of lesions and record of contact with animals. Eighty six clinical specimens from the infected sites were collected from 200 patients (125 males and 75 females) and subjected to conventional methods, 16 isolates were diagnosis by molecular assay, and the results were statistically analyzed by SPSS. The results show that 72.7% of the lesions were dry and 27.3% were inflammatory. The dry lesions were mostly (86%) on the head area and inflammatory ones were mostly (54.7%) in the feet area, 21.4% of the patients had previous contact with animals. Tinea corporis was the most prevalent, while Tinea faciei was the least occurring lesion with the highest cultural isolation rate when compared with Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton violaceum, Epidermophyton, Trichophyton verrucosum and non dermatophytes. The typing of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 fragment of rDNA gene for 16 isolated dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes were classified into Epidermophyton floccosum, T. rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans and others molds. The observations of molecular analysis were T. rubrum, 800 bp and T. mentagrophytes, 690 bp.  Key words: Myco-epidemiologic, dermatophytosis, diagnosis, microscopy, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Iraq.