Background/objective: To characterise the trends in dermatophyte isolation from specimens sourced from metropolitan Melbourne over a 48-year time period.
Method: Analysis of submitted specimens from three time periods.
Results: Trends identified include: an increasing mean age of the patients; increased numbers of onychomycosis isolates; a significant age difference among patients with Trichophyton interdigitale isolates compared with patients who had other dermatophyte species; and an increasing number of previously rarely isolated imported dermatophytes.
Conclusions: Significant shifts are occurring in dermatophyte epidemiology.
© 2010 The Authors. Australasian Journal of Dermatology © 2010 The Australasian College of Dermatologists.