Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 6(3): 38-42, 2012 ISSN 1991-8178 Corresponding Author: Marwa M. Azab, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (41522), Egypt. Tel: (+2) 01224602602. ; E-mail: Malke71@yahoo.com 38 Dermatophytes Isolated From Clinical Samples of Children Suffering From Tinea Capitis In Ismailia, Egypt 1 Marwa M. Azab, 1 Nora F. Mahmoud, 1 Salah Abd Allah 2 Alaa El Din. M.S. Hosny, 3 Atef S. Shehata and 4 Roshdy W. Mohamed 1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. 2 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. 3 Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. 4 Dermatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of tinea capitis in children, among the patients attending El-Sheikh Zaid dermatology center, Ismailia governorate, this has got an average new outpatient turnover of 2000-3000 per year. Methods: During the period of 2010–2011, a prospective cross sectional study was carried out in 56 children between the age’s 2and10 years. Examination of the scalp was performed to identify lesions compatible with tinea capitis. Cultures of hair samples were done, then macroscopical and microscopical examination were performed for dermatophyte isolates. Results: Dermatophytes were isolated in 52 (92.9%) of the samples and the predominant etiologic agents were Trichophyton violaceum in 21 (40.3%) of the cases, Microsporum canis in 16 cases (30.8%), Microsporum gypseum was isolated from 9 cases (17.3%), each of Trichophyton verrucosum and Microsporum audouinii was isolated from 3 cases (5.8%). Dermatophytes isolated from collected samples were higher in male 43 (82.7%) than female 9 (17.3%). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a high prevalence of tinea capitis among children of Ismailia, governorate, especially among males. On the other hands, Trichophyton violaceum and Microsporum canis were the most common agents in tinea capitis. Key words: Prevalence of tinea capitis, dermatophytes, children INTRODUCTION Dermatophytosis is a common cutaneous fungal disease caused by species belonging to the genera Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton. Tinea capitis, a dermatophyte infection of the scalp caused mainly by Trichophyton and Microsporum species, remains common among the pediatric population. Recently, this disease has been recognized as an important public health problem in the United States with 13% of school children, especially those of African-American descent, testing positive for dermatophytes (Ghannoum et al., 2003). Tinea capitis has decreased in developed countries, while it presents a high prevalence in developing countries (Caputo et al., 2001). In Egypt, limited information is available on the prevalence of t. capitis in the infantile population. In a study bone by (Hanaa, 1987) on T. capitis, in which, most of cases aged 3-9 years old and the infection was more common in boys (54%) than in girls (46%). In 2001, Nermin performed a study on T. capitis, in which High occurrence of tinea capitis in less than 10 years of age may be due to lack of fungistatic secretion by scalp in childhood (Weitzman and Summerbell, 1995). Adult sebum has fungistatic action. The low occurrence in females could be due to regular application of vegetable oil over the scalp which has fungistatic properties. In 2000, Fathi and Al-Samarai demonstrated that the prevalence rate of T. capitis was higher in children with a low socioeconomic profile (low standard of living, poor hygiene, low level of parental education and overcrowded living conditions) and the male to female ratio was 2:1. MATERIAL AND METHODS Population: From June 2010 to April 2010, a total of 56 children from El-Sheikh Zaid dermatology center, Ismailia governorate, were involved in the study. The children were divided into two groups: 43 (82.7%) male, and 9 (17.3%) were female.