Epidemiological and Mycological Aspects of Onychomycosis in Dakar (Senegal)

Khadime Sylla (1) , Roger C Tine (2) , Doudou Sow (3) , Souleye Lelo , Mamadou Dia , Seyda Traoré , Babacar Faye , Therese Dieng (4)

1 Service de Parasitologie-Mycologie Médicale
2 UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar [Sénégal]
3 VITROME - Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes
4 Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Dakar

Onychomycosis is a fungal nails infection often caused by yeasts, dermatophytes and molds. It is an important public health concern due to its high prevalence, the problem of diagnostics, and the poor response to treatments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological and microbiological profile of onychomycosis diagnosed at the Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology of the National University Hospital of Fann in Dakar, Senegal, from 2012 to 2016. A retrospective and descriptive study was performed from January 2012 to December 2016 in a patient attending the laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology at the Fann teaching hospital. Socio-demographic, clinical and biological data were collected from the bench registers. Samples from the lesions were tested using direct microscopy and cultured on a Sabouraud-Chloramphenicol and Sabouraud-Chloramphenicol-Actidione medium. A descriptive analysis was done using Stata IC 12 software. The significance level of different tests was set at 5% two-side. A total of 469 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the study population was 33.2 ± 15.2 years, and the sex ratio was 0.52. The prevalence of onychomycosis was 48.4% (227/469). The main clinical presentations were disto-lateral subungual onychomycosis (37.9%) and onyxis (46.5%). Identified fungal species were Candidaalbicans (42.7%), Candidaspp (39.5%), Trichophyton soudanense (10.1%), Fusarium spp (5.3%), and Candida tropicalis (2.6%). Candida albicans was more frequent in subjects over 15 years of age (43.6%) and women (45%). However, Trichophyton soudanense was higher in patients under 15 years old (17.4%) as well as in male subjects (18.8%). In conclusion, onychomycosis is a common cause of consultation in health facilities. Candida albicans and Trichophyton Soudanense are the main fungal species causing onychomycosis. A better understanding of the epidemiology of onychomycosis as well as the spectrum of the pathogen could contribute to improve the management of the infection.

Mots clés: dermatophytes; epidemiology; molds; onychomycosis; senegal; yeasts

Domaines: Bactériologie; Cardiologie et système cardiovasculaire; Maladies émergentes; Maladies infectieuses; Parasitologie; Virologie

Khadime Sylla, Roger C Tine, Doudou Sow, Souleye Lelo, Mamadou Dia, et al.. Epidemiological and Mycological Aspects of Onychomycosis in Dakar (Senegal). Journal of Fungi, 2019, 5 (2), pp.35. ⟨10.3390/jof5020035⟩. ⟨hal-02263775⟩