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Increased Risk of Tinea Pedis and Onychomycosis Among Swimming Pool Employees in Netanya Area, Israel

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Abstract

Tinea pedis and onychomycosis often co-occur in individuals. A relationship between swimming pools and tinea pedis exists; however, little research has investigated the relationship between onychomycosis, tinea pedis, and swimming pools. This study sought to examine the prevalence of tinea pedis and onychomycosis among swimming pool employees, a population that may be at risk of tinea infections. Samples were taken from 169 employees at 21 swimming pools in the Netanya area, Israel. KOH microscopy and culture was used to identify fungi. About 46 % of swimming pool employees had concurrent tinea pedis and onychomycosis, 30 % had tinea pedis only, and 6 % had onychomycosis only, compared to 10, 8, and 8 % of controls, respectively. After adjusting for age and gender, swimming pool employees were 20× more likely to have concurrent tinea pedis and onychomycosis, 15× more likely to have tinea pedis only, and 3× more likely to have onychomycosis only compared to controls. The present results are in agreement with previous research and support that swimming pools remain an important source of fungal contamination. More attention to hygienic guidelines and preventative measures may be needed in these settings.

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Author Contributions

A.S. contributed to study conception and design, acquisition of data, drafting of the manuscript, and revision of the manuscript. A.K.G. contributed to study conception and design, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, and revision of the manuscript. B.A. contributed to study conception and design and acquisition of data. S.B. contributed to study conception and design and acquisition of data. A.B. contributed to study conception and design and acquisition of data. R.F. contributed to acquisition of data. Y.K. contributed to acquisition of data. M.M. contributed to data analysis and interpretation and drafting of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Avner Shemer, Boaz Amichai, Sharon Baum & Aviv Barzilai

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Aditya K. Gupta

  3. Mediprobe Research Inc., 645 Windermere Road, London, ON, Canada

    Aditya K. Gupta & Melissa A. MacLeod

  4. Department of Dermatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, Israel

    Boaz Amichai

  5. Department of Dermatology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Sharon Baum & Aviv Barzilai

  6. Hospital Nossa Senhora da Saúde, University Fundação Tecnico Educacional Souza Marques, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Renata Farhi

  7. Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yehonathan Kaplan

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  1. Avner Shemer
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  2. Aditya K. Gupta
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  3. Boaz Amichai
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  4. Sharon Baum
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  5. Aviv Barzilai
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  6. Renata Farhi
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  7. Yehonathan Kaplan
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  8. Melissa A. MacLeod
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aditya K. Gupta.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Shemer, A., Gupta, A.K., Amichai, B. et al. Increased Risk of Tinea Pedis and Onychomycosis Among Swimming Pool Employees in Netanya Area, Israel. Mycopathologia 181, 851–856 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-016-0040-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-016-0040-5

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