Abstract
Objective : It has been difficult to prove the route of infection of dermatophytes as their morphological and physiological properties are not well defined. This study was conducted to show evidence of Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection in swimming pools. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay was used to compare DNA types of participants and non-participants in a swimming class and some primers adequate for RAPD assay for typing T. mentagrophytes, were determined.
Materials and method : The total DNA extracted from T. mentagrophytes which was isolated from 52 swimming class participants and 29 non-swimming class participants was investigated by RAPD with 5 primers (O PE-01, O PE-04, O PE-07, O PE -14, OPE-15).
Results : These pathogens were classified into three types (type I, type II, type III) using RAPD with two primers (OPE-14, OPE-15). There was a significant difference in the occurrence of the three types of pathogens between those swimming and those not. The most predominant type among those swimming was type III (52.7%), while type I (48.4%) predominated in the non-swimmers.
Conclusions : In this study, I found that two primers were useful to classify the pathogens into three subtypes, and the predominancy or the occurency ratio by these assays for the swimming class participants was significantly different from that of the non-swimmers. The results showed that the route of infection of these pathogens which cause tinea pedis, comes through swimming pools. It is important to provide information and precautions for both swimming pool users and managers for the prevention of tinea pedis infection.
