EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION OF DERMATOPHYTES AMONG ALMAJIRAI IN MAKARFI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The word dermatophyte literally means ―skin plant‖. The suffix ‗phyte‘ implies that these organisms are plants and therefore in the present context, it is a misnomer because the fungi are phylogenetically not related to plants (Chander, 2002). Dermatophytoses are commonly referred to as ringworm or tinea infections. The name ringworm was coined to describe the circular lesion produced by the dermatophytes on skin or scalp (Wetizman and Summerbell, 1995). The term ‗tinea‘ is derived from Latin word meaning ―worm‖ or ―moth‖ (Wetizman and Summerbell, 1995) and the second part of the name identifies the part of the body infected (Fisher and Cook, 1998). Hair, fur, skin cells and nail are the most important parts of human body that are enriched with keratin (Abdul and Al-Janabi, 2014). Therefore, dermatophytic infections are generally cutaneous and restricted to the non-living cornified layers because of the inability of the fungi to penetrate the deeper tissues (Wetizman and Summerbell, 1995).
The serum fungal inhibitory factors in the extravascular space prevent the penetration of the fungi in the living tissues (Sehgal, 2004), also their inability to tolerance human body temperature (37ºC) and the antifungal activity of blood proteins (Rodwell et al., 2008). Diseases caused by fungi known as mycoses can be clinically classified as superficial, deep, or systemic mycoses (Kwon-Chung et al., 1992). Dermatophytes are the most important microorganisms causing superficial mycosis (Lacaz et al., 1998; Monod et al., 2002). Dermatophytosis lesion takes a ring shape with inflammatory edges and clear center of normal skin. The lesions are often roughly circular with raised border, but may coalesce to form confluent areas of dry, scaling skin, inducing itching and scratching which in severe cases may ulcerate (Abdul and Al-Janabi, 2014). Fungal elements are always found in active state in the edge of lesion and that is why it is preferable to take scraping sample for microscopical diagnosis from the lesion edges and not from the clear zone (Hainer, 2003). The ring shape of dermatophytosis can also be used to differentiate it from other skin diseases, such as psoriasis or lichen planus in which the inflammatory responses tend to be uniform over the lesion (Hainer, 2003).
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EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION OF DERMATOPHYTES AMONG ALMAJIRAI IN MAKARFI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE
