An epidemiologic study of the fungal skin flora among the elderly in Alexandria

The fungal skin flora of a sample of 205 elderly persons in Alexandria, drawn by cluster sampling probability technique, was investigated. Pathogenic yeasts were isolated from 18.6% and 10.3% of skin and nails respectively. Candida albicans (16.1% and 7.3%) was prominent. A low prevalence of dermatophytes grown on agar (2.4% from skin and 2.9% from nails) was observed. In contrast, saprophytic filamentous fungi comprised 45.4 and 50.7% of skin and nails samples respectively. This study showed no statistically significant effect of sociodemographic variables (sex, marital status, crowding index, and income per capita) on the skin flora. There was no statistical significant difference between elderly diabetics and non-diabetics as regards fungal skin flora.