Tinea imbricata: a rare superficial mycosis

May 09 2019

Tinea imbricata is a chronic superficial mycosis caused by the fungus Trichophyton concentricum. A recent case report by Dr A Leung and colleagues describes a case of tinea imbricata in an 8 year old Malaysian boy.

Key points:

• The disease is endemic in Central and South America, Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asia, and mainly affects those living in primitive and isolated environments
• Patients typically present with an itchy, scaly, concentric rash, which can cover most of their body
• Transmission occurs through close contact with those infected
• Microscopic examination of skin scrapings showed closely packed short septate hyphae and no arthroconidia
• The patient was treated with 125 mg of oral terbinafine daily for 8 weeks with complete clearance of the lesions

The authors note that physicians in non-endemic areas should be aware of tinea imbricata due to the popularity of international travel.

Read the paper here: A Leung, K Leong and J Lam (2018), Tinea Imbricata,The Journal of Pediatrics, 200:e1, 285 - 285