Fungal infections of the scalp in Western Australia

Abstract

Between 1963 and 1972, 1,212 fungi were isolated from patients with tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp) in Western Australia. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by microscopic examination examination and/or culture of hairs, scale or pus. Microsporum canis, a zoophilic fungus, was found to be the most common agent of tinea capitis in Western Australia, causing 1,100 infections and accounting for 90.8% of the total isolates. The highest incidence of M. canis infections occurred in children between the ages of 2 and 8 years. Males accounted for 57.7% of scalp infections, and there were comparatively few cases in either males or females over the age of 10 years. Trichophyton tonsurans was found to be the main cause of endothrix scalp infections in Western Australia.