OCCURRENCE OF MICROSPORUM GYPSEUM (M. FULVUM) INFECTIONS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AREA

Abstract

INFECTIONS due to Microsporum gypseum (M. fulvum) have not been reported previously from the District of Columbia area. Indeed, there are few reports of its recognition as a causative agent of dermatophytosis in other sections of the United States. We have recently observed two patients with tinea capitis and four patients with tinea corporis from which M. gypseum was isolated. REPORT OF CASES Case 1.— An 8-yr.-old boy was seen on Oct. 10, 1949, with a single inflammatory lesion of the scalp. It had appeared as a red, scaling area with partial alopecia and had been present for 10 days. The boy had been treated with hot compresses and parenteral administration of penicillin without improvement. Slight fever (99 F.) occurred early in the course. Examination revealed a kerion, 5 by 7 cm. in diameter (Fig. 1). There was no fluorescence under Wood's light. A direct potassium hydroxide examination of an infected