Epidemiology of superficial mycoses in morocco: Analysis of the impact of anti-COVID-19 preventive measures
Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, Avicenna Military Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco.
Research Article
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 17(02), 144–151.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscarr.2023.17.2.0433
Publication history:
Received on 05 October 2023; revised on 13 November 2023; accepted on 16 November 2023
Abstract:
Introduction: In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, several strategies to reduce the spread of this virus have been adopted in the community and hospital settings.
Objective: To report the epidemiological trends of all superficial mycoses (SM) diagnosed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate the impact of anti-COVID-19 preventive measures on the incidence and etiological profile of these SM.
Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive and comparative study conducted over four years, divided into two distinct periods: Before the COVID-19 pandemic (Period 1: January 2018 to December 2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Period 2: January 2020 to December 2021), including all superficial mycoses diagnosed at the laboratory of parasitology and medical mycology of the Avicenne military hospital of Marrakech during these two periods.
Results: Out of 1598 superficial mycological specimens, 1006 were received during period 1 and 592 during period 2 (p=0.000). Onychomycosis (n=840) predominated in both periods (52.3% versus 53%, p=0.771). The incidence of ringworm and epidermomycosis decreased significantly between periods 1 and 2, with a p-value of 0.000 and 0.026, respectively. The study of the etiological profile showed a decrease in the incidence of dermatophytes (85.5% versus 79.3%, p=0.015), contrasting with a statistically significant increase in yeast MS (9% versus 11.3%, p=0.001), and this mainly concerned nonalbicans Candida (5.5% versus 35.8%, p=0.000).
Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the impact of anti-COVID-19 prevention measures on the epidemiological profile of SM. It shows that the continuation of the actions implemented to control the transmission of SARS-COV-2 will significantly contribute to reducing the incidence of superficial mycoses, especially dermatophytes.
Keywords:
COVID-19; Superficial mycoses; Rate; Mycological profile
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Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
