Isolation and Identification of Dermatophytes Isolated from Tinea Faciei

Dermatophyte infections constitute a significant proportion of human skin diseases, particularly in hot and humid regions that provide a favorable environment for fungal growth due to the presence of moisture, heat, and keratinous materials. The inability of these fungi to invade deep tissues is attributed to various inhibitory factors in serum and other bodily fluids, including chemical compounds in sweat, rapid cellular turnover in the epidermis, tissue desiccation, and low iron concentrations in these tissues. Additionally, some dermatophytes cannot grow at 37°C, while others exhibit enhanced growth at this temperature, thereby restricting dermatophyte infections to the keratinized layer of the skin. In this study, 100 clinical samples were collected from patients diagnosed with Tinea faciei at the dermatology consultancy unit of Tikrit Teaching Hospital and private clinics in Tikrit, Iraq. Samples were collected from the affected facial areas under the supervision of a specialist physician, including individuals of both genders and different age groups. Skin samples were obtained using the scraping technique. The results of this study revealed that 45 out of 100 samples were from individuals with facial dermatophyte infections. Among these, 28 samples (62.22%) tested positive for fungal growth, whereas 17 samples (37.77%) were negative. The findings also indicated that males had a higher infection rate (20 cases) compared to females (8 cases). The highest prevalence of Tinea faciei was observed in the 21-30 age group (adults), accounting for 39.28% (11 isolates). Among these, 9 isolates (45%) were from males, whereas 2 isolates (25%) were from females. Based on macroscopic and microscopic identification after culturing the isolates on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA), 28 dermatophyte isolates were identified, belonging to the Trichophyton and Microsporum genera, while Epidermophyton species were not isolated. The Trichophyton genus was the most prevalent, with 23 isolates from various species, predominantly T. mentagrophytes (10 isolates; 35.71%). The Microsporum genus was represented by 5 isolates of M. canis (10.71%) and 2 isolates of M. gypseum (7.14%), making it the least frequent species identified in this study.