Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 106216, Taiwan.
National Taiwan University Veterinary Hospital, Taipei City 106328, Taiwan.
Med Mycol. 2024 Oct 4;62(10). doi: 10.1093/mmy/myae103.
Chrysosporium-related fungi refers to an assemblage of fungi belonging to the Nannizziopsis, Ophidiomyces, and Paranannizziopsis genera. Chrysosporium-related fungi infection results in various skin lesions, such as necrosis and ulcers, in both captive and free-roaming reptiles. To update the prevalence of ophidiomycosis in Taiwan, which was first detected in 2019, we conducted a large-scale ecological survey of free-roaming native snakes with skin lesions in Taiwan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on Chrysosporium-related fungi prevalence in Southeast Asia. Fungal samples collected from the skin lesions of snakes were cultured and subjected to morphological, histopathological, and molecular analyses. We examined 2382 free-roaming snakes representing 42 snake species; among them, 132 (5.54%) had skin lesions. Ten (0.42%) snakes, representing four species, tested positive for Ophidiomyces (five snakes, four species) or a possibly novel Nannizziopsis species (five snakes, three species). The infected snakes were generally healthy, with mild clinical signs. The low prevalence rate, mild clinical signs, and broad pathogen/host range suggest that Ophidiomyces and Nannizziopsis are endemic to Southeast Asia. The newly reported presence of Nannizziopsis in free-roaming snakes suggests the need for modifying the currently used surveillance strategy.
棘孢木霉相关真菌是指属于 Nannizziopsis、Ophidiomyces 和 Paranannizziopsis 属的一组真菌。棘孢木霉相关真菌感染会导致圈养和自由活动的爬行动物出现各种皮肤损伤，如坏死和溃疡。为了更新台湾棘孢木霉病的流行情况，我们对台湾有皮肤损伤的自由活动的本地蛇进行了大规模的生态调查。据我们所知，这是东南亚首次对棘孢木霉相关真菌流行情况进行的研究。从蛇的皮肤损伤处采集真菌样本进行培养，并进行形态学、组织病理学和分子分析。我们检查了 2382 条自由活动的蛇，代表 42 个蛇种；其中，132 条（5.54%）有皮肤损伤。有 10 条（0.42%）蛇，代表四个物种，检测出棘孢木霉（五蛇，四物种）或一种可能的新型 Nannizziopsis 物种（五蛇，三物种）阳性。受感染的蛇通常很健康，只有轻微的临床症状。低流行率、轻微的临床症状和广泛的病原体/宿主范围表明，棘孢木霉和 Nannizziopsis 是东南亚的地方病。在自由活动的蛇中报告的新的 Nannizziopsis 存在表明需要修改当前使用的监测策略。
