Single strains of Trichophyton rubrum in cases of tinea pedis.

Multiple colonies of Trichophyton rubrum were isolated from single skin specimens from 10 patients with tinea pedis and were typed using a PCR-based analysis of repeats in the rRNA intergenic spacer. In each case only a single strain type of T. rubrum was isolated, suggesting a monotypic aetiology of tinea pedis. This is in contrast to the multiple strains previously shown to be involved in many cases of onychomycosis.