Summary
From 696 cases of superficial mycoses diagnosed in Manaus — State of Amazonas, within a seven-year period (1961 - 1968), the author obtained 515 strains of fungi, including 440 strains which belonged to the dermatophyte group. Trichophyton tonsurans was the predominant species; in fact, it is the most common dermatophyte isolated from human cases in the States of Northern Brazil, as has been shown by other investigators. In the present work, T. tonsurans was the etiological agent in 64% of the 440 cases of dermatophytoses. This high percentage was due mainly to the fact that T. tonsurans is almost solely responsible for tinea among the children of Manaus. Of 242 cases of ringworm of the scalp and of 30 cases of Kerion, T. tonsurans was isolated from 234 and 23 cases respectively. In adults, however, Thichophyton mentagrophytes was the most common agent of tinea; of 145 strains of dermatophytes isolated from adults 106 were T. mentagrophytes and 16 were T. tonsurans.