Abstract
Tinea capitis gladiatorum and tinea corporis gladiatorum caused by the anthropophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton tonsurans are well-known clinical entities in individuals involved in combat sports e.g., wrestlers and judo practitioners. We present an outbreak of Trichophyton tonsurans tinea capitis gladiatorum among wrestlers at a boarding school in Adana, Turkey. Fourteen of the 29 wrestlers examined (48.3%) harbored the pathogen, including eight asymptomatic scalp carriers, five with tinea capitis superficialis, and one asymptomatic trunk carrier. Dermatophytes were isolated from samples of the neck (1), nape (1), trunk (3) and inguinal area (2) in four of the five tinea capitis cases. A total of five inanimate objects, i.e., two wrestling mats, two pillowcases, and one sheet were also found to be positive for T. tonsurans. Mixed-marker strain typing examining 24 sequence variations in 12 gene loci confirmed that the outbreak was caused by a single strain of T. tonsurans.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported in part by a grant from the Kenneth L. & Eva S. Smith Foundation.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.
This paper was first published online on Early Online on 1 October 2009.