Trichophyton erinaceikerion barbae from a hedgehog with direct osculatory transfer to another person

Abstract

We describe a case of kerion tinea barbae infection due to Trichophyton erinacei in a 37-year-old man. The infection had also been transferred to his partner by direct contact from kissing. T. erinacei is a zoophilic dermatophyte occasionally harboured by the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). There are few reports of human infection in the literature, and it rarely causes a kerion. There is only one previous report of tinea barbae occurrence due to T. erinacei. This case highlights the possibility of one of the more unusual fungal infections that can be acquired in the UK, and highlights the necessity of asking specific questions to identify possible sources of infection.

In Vitro Activity of Twenty Commercially Available, Plant-Derived Essential Oils against Selected Dermatophyte Species

“…In Europe M. canis is the most common agent for all these. Its incidence is increasing, and it is the dominant agent in Central and Southern Europe, with countries such as Austria, Spain, Italy, and Greece reporting the highest numbers and proportions of M. canis cases [8], even if T. mentagrophytes and T. erinacei frequently occur [3,9].…”

Dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. erinacei in a dog: a case report

“…Compared to other dermatophyte species, T. mentagrophytes var. erinacei causes well-circumscribed, severe suppurative inflammation with follicular pustules known as kerion (Arenas et al 2006;Menelaos 2006;Nenoff et al 2014;Sidwell et al 2014). Kerion also resembles a suppurative, moist and painful boggy lesion as the result of advanced disease caused by the dermatophyte organism (Miletta et al 2014).…”

Inflammatory Tinea Manuum due to <i>Trichophyton erinacei</i> from an African Hedgehog

“…Of the 54 cases reported in the literature, 58.6% had contact with a hedgehog, and 13.7% with guinea pigs. The remaining cases have been acquired from the soil[6] [8] or humans[5]. In our case, authors consider hedgehog as the infection source, as in the direct examination of scales, many fungal filaments were observed, despite culture was negative.…”

“…812069 1022 Advances in Microbiology also transmit several zoonosis, including salmonellosis, mycobacteriosis, and protozoan infections like Cryptosporidium parvum [3], but mainly dermatophytosis. Mycoses transmitted by hedgehogs include mainly tinea manuum [4], and occasionally tinea capitis, kerion celsi [2], tinea barbae [5], tinea faciei, and tinea corporis [6].…”