Survey of Dermatophytes in Stray Cats with and without Skin Lesions in Northern Italy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dermatophytes in stray cats with and without clinical lesions from different colonies in rural and urban areas of Milan and surroundings in northern Italy. Stray cats (273) were caught during a trap-neuter-release (TNR) program conducted in different colonies of northern Italy in both rural and urban areas. Each cat was examined in dark environment with a Wood's lamp prior to sample collection. Hair or scales exhibiting typical fluorescence were removed with a pair of sterile hemostats and cultured. The hair of all cats was then sampled by Mackenzie modified brush technique regardless of the presence or absence of skin lesions attributable to dermatophytosis. All the hair samples were subjected to fungal culture. 15 cats were positive (5.5%). Microsporum canis was the most common dermatophyte isolated (13/15). The only other isolated dermatophyte was Trichophyton mentagrophytes (2/15). Our estimated prevalence of dermatophytes in stray cats was much lower than other Italian studies on the same population.

Phenotypical and Molecular Characterization of Microsporum canis Strains in North-Tunisia

“…Moreover, from an epidemiological study carried out by Bouden-Mansour (1997), M. canis was the most frequent dermatophyte isolated from animals in Tunisia (77.2%) with a high prevalence of isolates from asymptomatic animals. The occurrence of zoonotic transmission from animals to humans has been demonstrated by several studies (Proverbio et al, 2014;Drouot et al, 2009). For the best therapeutic procedure, identification of this dermatophyte at the species level is very important; the procedure for the identification of M. canis is usually based on phenotypical analysis by its macro-and micro-morphological features.…”

Çin’de Çiftlik Çalışanları ile Birlikte Tavşanlarda Trichophyton mentagrophytes Enfeksiyonu Olgusu

“…Despite the epidemiological and molecular features of T. mentagophytes in rabbits having been documented [3][4][5]7] , few studies have described histological features of rabbit infection. In this study, histological examination revealed a usual feature that lamellar or compact hyperkeratosis was widely distributed in the hair follicles and the stratum corneum.…”

“…T. mentagrophytes infection is characterized by inflamed, itchy skin with irregular lumps, alopecia, and dermatitis [2] . Previous epidemiological studies have demonstrated a high incidence of T. mentagrophytes in rabbits and its transmission to humans [3][4][5] , but there are no case reports in mainland China. In this study, we diagnosed a case of a highly contagious skin disease infecting rabbits and all farm staff on a large scale rabbit farm in this region as T. mentagrophytes by using advanced molecular techniques and clinical, microbiological aspects and the histological features of the infection are described.…”

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“…Laporan kejadian dermatofitosis sering diabaikan walaupun tingkat kejadian di lapangan sangat tinggi. Kejadian infeksi M. canis di Italia mencapai 98% pada kucing (Proverbio et al, 2014). Kasus yang disebabkan oleh M. canis dilaporkan lebih sedikit pada kucing jantan dewasa dibanding kucing betina dan anakan kucing.…”