ABSTRACT
Hair invasion by dermatophytes has a different epidemiology depending on the causative agents. Trichophyton species are responsible for most infections in North America (Trichophyton tonsurans) and in eastern and southern Europe and North Africa (Trichophyton violaceum), where they affect both children and adults. Transmission is interhuman and asymptomatic carriers are frequent. In western Europe Microsporum canis is the most common cause of the condition and the infection affects almost exclusively children. Transmission occurs through a symptomatic or asymptomatic animal, usually a cat.
