An epidemic of tinea corporis caused by Trichophyton tonsurans among children (wrestlers) in Germany.

An outbreak of tinea corporis due to Trichophyton tonsurans among 46 children (aged 7-17 years) was investigated. Most of them were wrestlers. Thirty-one strains were identified by conventional methods, but proved to be problematic in 15 isolates due to colony variation and reduced sporulation. They were identified as Trichophyton tonsurans by the use of molecular methods, for example, sequence comparison of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting. No DNA polymorphisms were detected with any of the techniques used, suggesting clonal reproduction of the populations of the species and providing evidence for spatial and temporal stability of the lineage.