Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 11369 Tehran, Iran.
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 11369 Tehran, Iran.
J Mycol Med. 2019 Apr;29(1):14-18. doi: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2019.01.004. Epub 2019 Feb 11.
Dermatophytosis is a frequent cutaneous infection affecting the keratinized tissues of humans, pets and livestock. Animals can carry dermatophytic elements asymptomatically and are considered to play an important role in the epidemiology of the disease. As exposure to any infected lesion free animals, especially cats, may lead to the development of infection in humans.
This study was done to determine the frequency of fungal agents isolated from skin and hair of cats living in rural areas of Meshkin-shahr, Iran.
A total of 103 asymptomatic cats living in rural areas of the region were studied.
This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in Medical Mycology Laboratory, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences from February 2015 to July 2016. A total of 103 asymptomatic cats were studied. Mycological analysis including direct examination and culture on SC, SCC and DTM of the collected samples were conducted. For molecular confirmation when needed, panfungal PCR targeting the ITS1 region of the rDNA gene cluster using primers ITS1 and ITS4 were performed. Gender and age were also recorded.
None of the 103 cats examined were positive for fungal elements on direct examination. However, 15 (14.5%) cases showed dermatophytes growth. T. verrucosum was the most common etiologic agents of dermatophytosis. Although the gender of the cats had not significant association with dermatophytosis prevalence, age was a significant influential risk factor (P=0.019). Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp., Rhizopus spp., Penicillium spp.and paecilomyces spp. in descending frequency were the most predominantly identified saprophytic fungi.
Our findings clearly highlighted the epidemiological role of asymptomatic cats in spreading dermatophytosis to humans and other animals.
皮肤癣菌病是一种常见的皮肤感染，影响人类、宠物和牲畜的角蛋白组织。动物可能无症状携带真菌元素，并被认为在疾病的流行病学中发挥重要作用。因为接触任何感染性病变的无病动物，特别是猫，可能导致人类感染。
本研究旨在确定来自伊朗梅什金沙赫尔农村地区的无症状猫皮肤和毛发中分离出的真菌剂的频率。
共研究了该地区农村地区的 103 只无症状猫。
这是一项横断面描述性研究，于 2015 年 2 月至 2016 年 7 月在德黑兰医科大学公共卫生学院医学真菌学实验室进行。共研究了 103 只无症状猫。对收集的样本进行了直接检查和 SC、SCC 和 DTM 培养的真菌学分析。当需要分子确证时，使用针对 rDNA 基因簇 ITS1 区域的泛真菌 PCR 用引物 ITS1 和 ITS4 进行。还记录了性别和年龄。
在直接检查中，没有一只猫对真菌元素呈阳性。然而，有 15 例（14.5%）显示出皮肤癣菌生长。T. verrucosum 是皮肤癣菌病最常见的病原体。虽然猫的性别与皮肤癣菌病的患病率没有显著关联，但年龄是一个重要的影响因素（P=0.019）。曲霉属、链格孢属、根霉属、青霉属和拟青霉属等真菌按降序排列是最主要的腐生真菌。
我们的研究结果清楚地强调了无症状猫在将皮肤癣菌病传播给人类和其他动物方面的流行病学作用。
