Isolation of dermatophytes and correlated species from the soil of public gardens and parks in Rome.

Looking for dermatophytes and other keratinophilic fungi in the soil of parks and gardens in large towns is very interesting because of the relationship between the number of people living in the area and the presence of such fungi in the soil. As compared with other cities in Italy, Rome offers prime conditions for this kind of research. It has a high population density (10,000 inhabitants per sq/km2), and many parks and gardens, where it is possible to carry out soil studies. It was noted that in 35 sites the number of the isolated species of keratomycetes was 2.6 times higher than the number of all other species of fungi and that species found most often were Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton ajelloi, M. cookei, and Chrysosporium spp. It is of particular interest that Nannizzia cajetani and N. grubya were isolated directly from the soil for the first time in Italy and that Diheterospora spp. were isolated from almost all of the samples. Keratinic matter in soils evidently influences the biological cycle of the dermatophytes and other keratinophilic fungi, but at present the methods of soil analysis are not yet specific enough to establish a well-defined relationship.