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A. GeneralIntroduction . I. Historical notes . . . . . II. The term dermatophytosis III. The taxonomy of dermatophytes . IV. The importance of individual dermatophytes in veterinary medicine. V. The location of human dermatophytic lesions . . . . . . VI. The propagation of dermatophytes under natural conditions VII. Geographical distribution of dermatophytes VIII. The present-day concept of dermatophytes IX. Diagnostic characters of dermatophytes . X .

Blastoschizomyces capitatus infection in a 48-year-old man with acute myelocytic leukaemia is reported. A multiorgan involvement and fulminant course of the fungal infection resulted in the patient's death despite fluconazole prophylaxis, therapy with amphotericin B and administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Predisposing factors to the infection, clinical relevance of surveillance strains and in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing are discussed.

Adiaspiromycosis was identified in 6 animals in the examination of the lungs of 90 large carnivores. Emmonsia crescens (Chrysosporium parvum var. crescens) was demonstrated as the causative agent in 5 cases of disease-in the badger (Meles meles), the otter (Lutra lutra) and the fox (Vulpes vulpes). E. parva was demonstrated in the remaining case of disease in a fox. The badger is a new, up to the present unknown host of E. crescens. The sporadic occurrence of adiaspiromycosis in the fox and the otter classifies this disease among rare diseases of this animals.

Fourteen clinical isolates of Zygomycetes were tested for their in vitro susceptibility to nine antifungal agents. Susceptibility assessment was performed using a microtiter broth dilution method. Synthetic broth with YNB and glucose was used for 5-fluorocytosine and BHI broth for all the other antimycotics. Amphotericin B exhibited the strongest activity against all isolates tested. MIC values of other two polyenes--nystatin and pimaricin--ranged within the susceptibility limits, with a little pronounced higher activity of pimaricin. The isolates of the genus Absidia and Syncephalastrum were well sensitive to all antimycotics with the exception of 5-fluorocytosine and naftifine. A very weak or zero growth inhibitory effect against all members of the genera Mucor and Rhizopus was found in azoles, 5-fluorocytosine and naftifine.