Global prevalence of nail fungal infection
The fungal infection of the nails causes discoloration, thickening, and separation from the nail bed. In European countries onychomycosis was found to be the most frequent fungal foot infection and estimates its prevalence at 27%. Prevalence was observed to increase with age. Onychomycosis affects approximately one-third of diabetics and is 56% more frequent in people suffering from psoriasis.
Fungal diseases kill more than 1.5 million and affect over a billion people. However, they are still a neglected topic by public health authorities. The 20.6% population in Asia and 14% of general population in America are suffering from nail fungal infection. The 35-40 million people in Europe are suffering among them 23% are severely infected. In Nordic region 9.6 million people are suffering among them 20% are children and 16% are adult above age 65 years.