European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus L.) as a Reservoir of Dermatophytes in Poland

Abstract

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus Linnaeus) frequently colonises areas located close to human life in cities, as these are more suitable nest sites offering an abundance of food and allowing avoidance of predators. However, urbanisation has a significant impact on the epidemiology of infectious diseases, including dermatophytoses, the primary source of which are wild animals. In this study, we determined the spectrum of dermatophytes isolated from the European hedgehog and assessed their susceptibility profile to antifungal drugs. Symptomatic and asymptomatic dermatophyte infections were observed in 7.7% and 8% of the 182 examined free-living hedgehogs, respectively. In the pool of the isolated dermatophyte strains, Trichophyton erinacei was dominant (29.9%), followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (17.9%), Trichophyton benhamiae (13.4%), Nannizzia gypsea (11.9%), Microsporum canis (10.4%), Nannizzia nana (7.5%), Paraphyton cookei (6.0%), and Nannizzia fulva (3.0%). Susceptibility tests revealed the highest activity of luliconazole and the lowest of activity fluconazole among the azole drugs applied. Although terbinafine generally exhibited high efficacy, two Trichophyton mentagrophytes isolates showed resistance to this drug (MIC = 2 µg/ml) resulting from missense mutations in the SQLE gene corresponding to the amino acid substitution Leu393Phe. Summarising, our study has also revealed that such wildlife animals as hedgehogs can be a reservoir of pathogenic human dermatophytes, including harmful strains resistant to commonly used antifungal drugs. Graphical Abstract

In vitro activities of 8 antifungal agents against geophilic dermatophyte isolates

“…Susceptibility of dermatophytes to common and new antimycotic agents was a matter of continuous fluctuations over the time. Nevertheless, in agreement with the results of recent investigations that found the in vitro activities of LUL, TER and EFN superior to other medications against Trichophyton species, the present study supports and extends such finding to geophilic species from the genera Nannizzia and Arthroderma 9,11,13,14 . Of the topical antifungal agents CPO, LUL, EFN and TVB tested in the present survey, the best results were observed with LUL, which had the lowest geometric mean MIC for all tested isolates.…”

“…15 The potent effect of LUL on clinical Trichophyton isolates, for example T. mentagrophytes, T. interdigitale, T. rubrum, T. benhamiae and T. erinacei (MIC range = 0.0002-0.015) has recently been reported. 11,13,14 The only available data regarding the activity of LUL against geophilic dermatophytes came from Gnat et al 9 In their study, similar to our survey, LUL exhibited the lowest MIC 50 and MIC 90 against all Trichophyton and geophilic Nannizzia species isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic dermatophyte-positive hedgehogs.…”

“…Nevertheless, in agreement with the results of recent investigations that found the in vitro activities of LUL, TER and EFN superior to other medications against Trichophyton species, the present study supports and extends such finding to geophilic species from the genera Nannizzia and Arthroderma. 9,11,13,14 Of the topical antifungal agents CPO, LUL, EFN and TVB tested in the present survey, the best results were observed with LUL, which had the lowest geometric mean MIC for all tested isolates. Luliconazole (LUL) is an imidazole antifungal drug that in 2013 was approved by FDA as a 1% topical cream for treatment of skin infections by dermatophytes.…”

“…Moreover, a potential transmission of geophilic dermatophytes through asymptomatic carrier animals has been taken into consideration. 8,9 Regardless of the ecological categories, it is known that dermatophytes are generally susceptible to most antifungals in vitro. However, susceptibility of these fungi to antifungal medications and treatment modalities remain disputable due to frequent clinical relapses.…”

Endoparasite Infections of the European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in Central Italy

“…The foraging area of the European hedgehog usually extends over a radius of 200–300 m around the nest, but it can also cover distances of several kilometers, with a considerable risk of being killed by vehicles or dying of unnatural causes [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. As further proof of the close contact between hedgehogs and humans, this species is one of the most hospitalized mammal species in wildlife rescue centers in Italy [ 8 ] and other European countries as well [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”