Survey on Dermatophytes Isolated from Animals in Switzerland in the Context of the Prevention of Zoonotic Dermatophytosis.

ABSTRACT: Most inflammatory dermatophytoses in humans are caused by zoophilic and geophilic dermatophytes. Knowledge of the epidemiology of these fungi in animals facilitates the prevention of dermatophytosis of animal origin in humans. We studied the prevalence of dermatophyte species in domestic animals in Switzerland and examined the effectiveness of direct mycological examination (DME) for their detection compared to mycological cultures. In total, 3515 hair and skin samples, collected between 2008 and 2022 by practicing veterinarians, were subjected to direct fluorescence microscopy and fungal culture. Overall, 611 dermatophytes were isolated, of which 547 (89.5%) were from DME-positive samples. Cats and dogs were the main reservoirs of Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum cani

SUBMITTER: Fratti M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9967568 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature