Thomson Pamela, Monsalves Pamela, Maier Liliana, Silva Víctor
Unidad de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago, Chile.
Unidad de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago, Chile.
Rev Iberoam Micol. 2015 Apr-Jun;32(2):103-5. doi: 10.1016/j.riam.2013.10.012. Epub 2014 Mar 19.
Dermatophytes are pathogenic fungi that can be present in the flora of mammals, such as dogs, cats and rodents, which can be a source and transmission vehicle to other hosts, including humans. In Chile, there is a steady increase of acquiring guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) as pets, with no local studies on their colonization by dermatophytes.
To determine the presence of dermatophytes on clinically healthy guinea pigs, kept in pet stores in Santiago, Chile.
A total of 52 clinically healthy animals were studied using the method by Mariat and Tapia (1966). The specimen culture and identification of the dermatophytes were performed using classical mycological procedures.
Four guinea pigs (7.7%) out of 52 were colonized by dermatophytes, and were identified as Trichophyton mentagrophytes (3 cases) and Trichophyton verrucosum (one case).
This study shows, for the first time in Chile, that guinea pigs can be colonized by dermatophytes, which should alert administrators of pet stores, veterinarians and physicians, to keep this in mind when purchasing or looking after this type of pet in a veterinary office.
皮肤癣菌是致病性真菌，可存在于哺乳动物如狗、猫和啮齿动物的菌群中，这些动物可能是向包括人类在内的其他宿主传播的来源和载体。在智利，将豚鼠（豚鼠属）作为宠物饲养的情况在稳步增加，但尚无关于其皮肤癣菌定植的本地研究。
确定智利圣地亚哥宠物店中临床健康的豚鼠身上皮肤癣菌的存在情况。
使用Mariat和Tapia（1966年）的方法对总共52只临床健康的动物进行研究。采用经典真菌学程序进行皮肤癣菌的标本培养和鉴定。
52只豚鼠中有4只（7.7%）被皮肤癣菌定植，鉴定为须癣毛癣菌（3例）和疣状毛癣菌（1例）。
本研究首次在智利表明，豚鼠可被皮肤癣菌定植，这应提醒宠物店管理人员、兽医和医生，在购买或在兽医诊所照料这类宠物时牢记这一点。
