mycetoma, fungal infection, usually localized in the foot but occurring occasionally elsewhere on the body, apparently resulting from inoculation into a scratch or abrasion of any of a number of fungi—Penicillium, Aspergillus, or Madurella—or actinomycetes such as Nocardia. Mycetoma was first reported in the mid-19th century from the region of Madura in southern India. Today it is endemic to parts of Africa and Asia.
Mycetoma occurs most frequently in individuals who walk barefoot and is most commonly seen in males aged 15 to 30 and in manual labourers. The infection, which may remain latent for a time, forms small painless subcutaneous swellings that enlarge, soften with a grainy-textured pus, and break through the skin surface, with concurrent invasion of deeper tissues. Grains in pus discharged from affected areas contain the infectious agent. The condition typically requires treatment with a combination of antibiotic therapy, antifungal drugs, and surgery. When tissue damage is extreme, the foot or other affected extremity is usually amputated.