New Record of Bipolaris cynodontis: An Emerging Human Pathogen Causing Superficial Mycosis in North India.

Superficial mycosis, a common fungal infection affecting people worldwide are prevalent in the tropical and subtropical countries, mostly caused by the dermatophytes but nowadays, there is an increase in the incidence of these infections being caused by non-dermatophytic fungi and yeasts. Among non-dermatophytes, Bipolaris species, usually known to cause diseases in plants, have also emerged as potent human pathogens in the past years. Reports on Bipolaris species associated with clinical human skin samples are rare worldwide with no reports on B. cynodontis as a causal agent of superficial human skin mycoses from India. We report the first case of superficial mycosis caused by B. cynodontis that affected the feet of a 19-year-old female student from Jammu district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Thus, the causal agent described in the research communication constitutes a new addition to the list of pathogenic non-dermatophytes associated with human skin.