Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from the dust of ferry boats and trains in Italy

Mycoses. 1989 Nov;32(11):590-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0507.1989.tb02188.x.

Abstract

The occurrence of fungi of the genera Epidermophyton, Microsporum, Trichophyton and Chrysosporium in dust collected from 10 ferry boats and 11 railway cars in Italy was studied. Ferry boats: 101 colonies of fungi were isolated. Of the dermatophytes, E. floccosum represented 2.0% of all the colonies isolated, M. canis 3.0%, M. gypseum 5.0% and Tr. mentagrophytes represented 2.0%. E. floccosum was isolated from 2 ferry boats, M. canis from 3, M. gypseum from 4 and Tr. mentagrophytes from 2. Only two ferry boats appeared to be free of pathogenic fungi. Of all the species isolated, Chr. pannorum was the most numerous (45.4%). In all five species of Chrysosporium were isolated. Railway cars: The final destination of the trains, coming from various cities, was Rome's Termini Station. 336 strains were isolated. The following species were found: E. floccosum 3%, Tr. mentagrophytes 4.8%, Tr. tonsurans 0.3%, Tr. ajelloi 0.6%, Trichophyton spp. 3%, M. canis 5% and M. gypseum 1.5%. Seven different species of Chrysosporium were isolated. Chr. pannorum was the most numerous one (71% of all). Regarding the occurrence of dermatophytes, E. floccosum was isolated from 8 of the 11 trains examined, M. canis from 10, M. gypseum from 4, Tr. mentagrophytes from 8 and Tr. tonsurans from only 1 of the trains. All of the trains were positive for pathogenic fungi, ranging from a minimum of 2 species to a maximum of 4.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arthrodermataceae / isolation & purification*
  • Chrysosporium / isolation & purification*
  • Dust*
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Mitosporic Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Railroads*
  • Ships*

Substances

  • Dust