SUMMARYThe dermatophyte Microsporum distortum has been recovered from 32 human infections and 7 animals in New Zealand. All cases have occurred within a limited rural area of the Otago province. A comparison of clinical and epidemiological characteristics of M. distortum ringworm with those of Microsporum canis reveals a close similarity between the two fungi. Both show a predilection for the scalp area and have similar age, sex and seasonal distributions. Cats seem to be the main source of human infection, but with M. distortum it is possible that these animals serve merely as a vector between man and some hitherto unidentified (wild) animal reservoir.
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