Superficial Mycoses in the West of Scotland

Abstract

Ringworm formed almost 70 per cent of all superficial mycoses diagnosed. The feet and nails were most frequently affected and a single species, Trichophyton rubrum was responsible for the majority of infections that required specialist attention. Scalp ringworm which, until the middle of this century, was the most common form of the disease now constitutes only 5 per cent of infections and the majority of these are caused by the zoophilic fungus Microsporum canis. The anthropophilic dermatophytes which were once so prevalent as the cause of scalp infections are now rarely encountered. Yeasts, especially Candida albicans were most frequently encountered as a cause of mucosal infections but were not unimportant as a cause of disease of skin and nail.