[Two cases of dermatophytosis caused by Microsporum gypseum and isolation of Microsporum gypseum from soil in Chigasaki city].

We report two cases of dermatophytosis caused by Microsporum (M.) gypseum. One case was a 59-year-old healthy woman who complained of itchy annular erythema on her right forearm. We isolated M. gypseum from scales on the forearm. The other case was a 73-year-old midwife who had developed infiltrated erythema on her face for 6 months. M. gypseum was isolated from scales of the nose. Both women liked gardening and M. gypseum was isolated from the garden soil of these women by a hair-baiting technique. The first case had a cat, a mouse and an owl, and the second had a dog. Hairbrush culture of these pets, however, was negative. So we concluded both cases were infected with M. gypseum from garden soil. We isolated M. gypseum from soil collected in Chigasaki city. Of the 7 fungal cultures from 10 samples, 2 cultures were identified as M. gypseum.