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The mycoses of Oceania

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Abstract

A review of the mycoses of Oceania, defined as the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, has revealed the occurrence of cutaneous, subcutaneous and systemic mycoses.

Tinea versicolor is the most prevalent of the cutaneous mycotic infections. Dermatophyte infections are also common. The etiologic agents incriminated have beenEpidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum canis, members of theMicrosporum fulvum-gypseum complex,Trichophyton concentricum, T. mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. tonsurans andT. verrucosum. Only one case of tinea nigra has been reported and that was in Hawaii. Among the fungi that cause subcutaneous mycoses onlyAllescheria boydii, Nocardia brasiliensis, Madurella mycetomi andSporothrix schenckii have been encountered to date. Among the systemic mycoses, actinomycosis, cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis have been found to be present. The geographic distribution of these actinomycotic and mycotic infections is provided along with data on soil isolation records and histoplasmin sensitivity surveys.

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  1. Center for Disease Control, Health Services and Mental Health Administration, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 30333, Atlanta, Georgia

    Libero Ajello Ph. D.

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Ajello, L. The mycoses of Oceania. Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 46, 87–95 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02051900

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