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Epidemiology of Dermatophytes in Belgium: A 5 Years’ Survey

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Abstract

Dermatophytes are among the most common fungal agents causing superficial skin infections worldwide. Epidemiology of these infections is evolving and variable in every country. This report presents the Belgian epidemiological data regarding the distribution of dermatophytes species isolated by the two national reference centers for mycosis during a period of 5 years (2012–2016). Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequently isolated species, considering all sampling sites (60.3% on average between 2012 and 2016). More precisely, this dermatophyte was the major agent of Tinea unguium and Tinea corporis during this period, followed by species of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex. Moreover, Microsporum audouinii was the main etiological agent of Tinea capitis (TC) with a frequency of 52.5% on average between 2012 and 2016. Other African dermatophytes species such as Trichophyton soudanense and Trichophyton violaceum were also agents of TC with a respective prevalence of 11.6% and 11.5% on average. This study highlights a different dermatophyte distribution in Belgium in comparison with other European countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Belgian National Reference Center, University Hospital of Liege, Liège, Belgium

    Rosalie Sacheli, Rajae Darfouf, Caroline Adjetey & Marie-Pierre Hayette

  2. Department of Biostatistics, University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium

    Laurence Seidel

  3. Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Belgian National Reference Center, University Hospital of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Lize Cuypers & Katrien Lagrou

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  1. Rosalie Sacheli
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  2. Lize Cuypers
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  4. Rajae Darfouf
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  5. Caroline Adjetey
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  7. Marie-Pierre Hayette
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by RS, AA and RD. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RS, KL, LC and MPH commented and contributed on previous versions of the manuscript. MPH supervised and validated the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rosalie Sacheli.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The authors first and last name was swapped and incorrectly published. The correct first and last name of the authors are “Rosalie Sacheli, Lize Cuypers, Laurence Seidel, Rajae Darfouf, Caroline Adjetey, Katrien Lagrou, Marie-Pierre Hayette”.

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Sacheli, R., Cuypers, L., Seidel, L. et al. Epidemiology of Dermatophytes in Belgium: A 5 Years’ Survey. Mycopathologia 186, 399–409 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-021-00542-4

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