SUMMARYPitted keratolysis is a skin disease characterized by the appearance of pitted lesions on the pressure‐bearing areas of the soles of the feet and less often affecting the palms of the hands. A coccofilamentous bacterium is consistently seen in microscopic preparations from the lesions and may be the causative agent of the disease. However, there has been some dispute as to the organism's identity because of the isolation of a number of different micro‐organisms, including Streptomyces spp. and a Corynebacterium sp. from previously reported cases. On the basis of histopathological evidence, it has also been suggested that the actinomycete Dermatophilus congolensis might be associated with the condition. In the present study, investigations into the prevalence and laboratory diagnosis of the condition resulted in the isolation of D. congolensis from two cases. The two isolates differed from those usually recovered from cases of dermatophilosis in humans and animals and may represent a hitherto unrecognized biotype of the spec
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