title: Toewebs as a source of gram-negative bacilli.
abstract: The prevalence of Gram-negative bacilli on the toewebs was 8% in normal students, 24% in hospital outpatients with suspected Tinea pedis, 41% in industrial workers wearing protective clothing and 58% in coal miners. Prevalence was greatest in those exposed to wet working conditions. In miners, the presence of Gram-negative bacilli was related to symptoms of itching/soreness and cracking/fissuring, and was negatively related to malodour, but this latter trend was reversed in outpatients and in industrial workers. The feet are a source of many 'enteric' and 'environmental' bacilli and could contribute to infection elsewhere than in the toewebs themselves.
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D011511:Proteus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014034:Toes / Q000382:microbiology*