Bacterial skin infections in a tropical environment.

The subject of bacterial skin infection in the tropics has shown some significant advances in the past few years, although it is still relatively understudied. Of special interest is the emerging concern about the public health aspects of pyoderma, either primary or secondary to scabies, in developing countries. In addition, certain more unusual agents, such as Bacillus anthracis and Corynebacterium diphtheriae, continue to cause significant problems in some areas, while incidence of other tropical diseases, such as endemic treponematoses, has largely dropped.