OCCURRENCE OF KERATINOPHILIC FUNGI FROM PLAYGROUND SOILS IN ARAKKONAM, TAMIL-NADU

A monitoring study on the play grounds of a few primary schools in the town, Arakkonam of Tamil Nadu, revealed the occurrence of pathogenic and potentially pathogenic keratinophilic fungi. From the school psammobiotic environment, the species isolated were Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, A. niger, A. terreus, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor pusillus, Penicillium chrysogenum, Trichoderma viride, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton sp., Rhizopus nigricans. The occurrence of dermatophytic fungi varied from school to school.