ONYCHOMYCOSIS DUE TO ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS

Abstract
Organisms of the aspergillus group are generally regarded as saprophytes. Under certain conditions, however, they may acquire pathogenic properties and become capable of infecting the ear, lung and other parts of the body. There are a few recorded instances of diseased nails attributed to various types of aspergilli or related fungi.1 In general, claims for such a relation have been vigorously criticized. Thom and Church2 stressed the difficulties in interpreting the data furnished in the literature, especially since few investigators had carefully identified their cultures. In addition, clinical information was often lacking or fragmentary. In the rare cases in which such details were supplied,3 the clinical picture seemed to resemble closely that seen in ordinary yeast infections of the nails and surrounding tissue (for example, paronychia), and it is not surprising therefore that some of the observers considered the aspergillus merely as a secondary invader. These data