The presence of dermatophytes in infected pets and their household environment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to diagnose dermatophytosis in pets and investigate the presence of dermatophytes in their home environment. Samples from hair coat were collected from 70 pets: 47 dogs, 19 cats, three guinea pigs and one rabbit. After mycological culture, 188 samples were collected from the household environments in 26 homes: 78 from places were of predominantly used by the tutors, 66 from places used by the animals, 44 from flooring, and 24 samples from contactees. Samples were seeded on Mycosel agar, incubated at 25°C, and the colonies were identified by their macro-and-microscopic characteristics. Dermatophytes were found in 37.1% of the samples originating from the sick animals. Microsporum canis was the most prevalent species, isolated in 12 dogs and eight cats; Trichophyton quinckeanum in three guinea pigs, Microsporum gypseum in two dogs and Trichophyton mentagrophytes in one cat. Dermatophytes were found in 69.2% of the surveyed homes; 29.5% of the places/objects predominantly used by the tutors, 42.4% mainly used by the animals, 31.8% from floors, and 50% from contactees. The meeting of dermatophytes in animals and in the household environment confirms the possibility of transmission by direct or indirect contact and their importance in public health.

Major challenges and perspectives in the diagnostics and treatment of dermatophyte infections

“…The chronic infectious disease in the family members began with the hidden infections of their pets. There are more similar reports in the literature (Murmu et al 2015;Debnath et al 2016;Baumgardner 2017;Pasquetti et al 2017;Graser et al 2018;Neves et al 2018;Gnat et al 2018b). They demonstrate that the tendency towards keeping domestic animals and the possibility of asymptomatic infections in pets have an impact on the growing prevalence of dermatophytoses.…”

Dermatophytosis by Trichophyton verrucosum in domestic feline – case report

“…The clinical relevance of the dermatophytosis is quite explained within the scientific community. They represent formidable causes of veterinary service as well as the increasing and important discussion within the perspective of One Health System, especially due to the zoonotic transmission capacity among most of the involved agents (Neves et al, 2018;Andrade & Rossi, 2019). Specifically in felines, M. canis and M. gypseum present significative occurrence (Dias et al, 2017) however, there are few papers that elucidate the isolation of T. verrucosum which causes either dermatophytosis in dogs and cats or are still present in the fur of asymptomatic animals.…”

“…Dermatological disorders show high prevalence in small animal, and they are the cause of one of the main problems that motivate the search for a veterinarian (Gasparetto et al, 2013). Within this scenario, diseases involving fungi, especially dermatophytes, are important not only for their high occurrence but also the zoonotic transmission capacity, which represents a problem to the Saúde Única (Neves et al, 2018;Andrade & Rossi, 2019).…”

“…Due to the natural habitat and the development spot, the dermatophyte fungi can be classified into three main categories: geophilic, anthropophilic and zoophilic, and they are found in the soil, humans and animals, respectively (Farias et al, 2016;Neves et al, 2018;Andrade & Rossi, 2019). T. verrucosum is a zoophilic dermatophyte species associated to infectious cases in ruminants (Farias et al, 2016), and rarely described as the causative agent of dermatopathies in dogs and cats.…”

Dermatoses fúngicas na atenção básica de saúde

“…A Malasseziose é uma micose superficial, causada por leveduras do gênero Malassezia como resultado de reação inflamatória e/ou devido à hipersensibilidade a antígenos ou produtos fúngicos 14 . O gênero Malassezia abrange treze espécies de leveduras lipofílicas distintas 15 .…”