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Trichophyton tonsurans scalp carriage among wrestlers in a national competition in Turkey

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Abstract

Trichophyton tonsurans tinea gladiatorum is an emerging epidemic among combat-sport athletes across the globe. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic dermatophytic infections among wrestlers in the National Greco-Roman Championship in Turkey. In total, 194 wrestlers from 32 provinces and 72 clubs were examined for scalp, trunk, groin, and toe web dermatophytic infections. We also administered a questionnaire to obtain information on the participants’ lifestyles, wrestling characteristics, and risk factors for dermatophytic infections. The hairbrush method was used for scalp and trunk sampling, whereas a cotton swab was used for groin, toe web, and mat sampling. Three wrestling mats in the gymnasium were surveyed for dermatophytes using the touch preparation method. A total of 17 (8.8%) wrestlers harbored dermatophytes, and 22 strains were isolated: 13 (59.1%) T. tonsurans and 9 (40.9%) T. rubrum. These isolates were found on the scalp (8), trunk (2), forearm (1), hand (1), groin (3), and feet (7). In addition, we recovered 8 dermatophyte strains from the 150 mat samples (5.3%): T. rubrum in 6 samples (75%) and T. tonsurans in two samples (25%). T. tonsurans was only recovered from 11 out of 194 (5.7%) wrestlers. Scalp carriage represents the predominant (72.7%) clinical picture of a T. tonsurans infection in these Greco-Roman wrestlers in Turkey.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was partly supported by the Turkish Wrestling Federation. We gratefully acknowledge Mr. Önder Yakşi, the General Coordinator of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, who kindly helped in the organization of this study, making the present study possible. In addition, we appreciate and give our sincere thanks to two anonymous reviewers for their critical comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Çukurova, Adana, 01330, Turkey

    Macit Ilkit

  2. Department of Microbiology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey

    Ramazan Gümral & Mehmet Ali Saraçlı

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Çukurova, Ankara, Turkey

    Refik Burgut

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  1. Macit Ilkit
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  2. Ramazan Gümral
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  3. Mehmet Ali Saraçlı
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  4. Refik Burgut
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Correspondence to Macit Ilkit.

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Ilkit, M., Gümral, R., Saraçlı, M.A. et al. Trichophyton tonsurans scalp carriage among wrestlers in a national competition in Turkey. Mycopathologia 172, 215–222 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-011-9421-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-011-9421-y

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