A preliminary study on the occurrence of keratinolytic fungi in the street sweepings from Chorzów.

The street sweepings from the city of Chorzów were surveyed for keratinolytic fungi. Out of 106 Petri dishes examined, 98 (92.4%) were positive for these micro-organisms. Altogether, 185 fungal appearances belonging to 15 species were observed. Chrysosporium keratinophilum, Malbranchea flava, Ch. europae, Sporothrix schenckii, ch. anamorphs of Aphanoascus reticulisporus/fulvescens, Ch. an. Arthroderma curreyi, and M. an. Uncinocarpus reessi predominated in the sweepings. The occurrence of Ch. keratinophilum, Ch. europae, Ch. an. A. curreyi, and S. schenckii could depend on the content of heavy metals and the individual fractions in the sweepings. The epidemiological aspect of the presence of pathogenic fungi in the street dust was briefly discussed.