Brustenga Leonardo, Morganti Giulia, Gobbi Marco, Ranucci Alice, Rigamonti Giulia, Moretta Iolanda, Diaferia Manuela, D'Avino Nicoletta, Cruciani Deborah, Ciullo Marcella, Massacci Francesca Romana, Crotti Silvia
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
WildUmbria Wildlife Rescue Center, 06026 Pietralunga, Italy.
Vet Sci. 2025 Mar 28;12(4):306. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12040306.
European hedgehogs are an important reservoir for many pathogens of health interest. Since hedgehogs live in close contact with humans, potential zoonotic fungi raise significant public health concerns, especially in areas with a high hedgehog density. From 2020 to 2023, 134 hedgehogs were surveyed for potential zoonotic fungi. Non-invasive methods were used, such as brushing live animals with a sterile toothbrush and taking oral and rectal swabs from deceased ones (86 animals). Dermatophytes were cultured on Dermasel agar and identified using molecular tools, while yeasts were isolated on Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol and determined using Candida Chromogenic agar (MicroBiolDiagnostici, Cagliari, Italy) and MALDI-TOF (Microflex LT Smart Biotyper with FlexControlBiotyper 3.4 software, Bruker Daltonics, Bremen, Germany). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for isolates. Dermatophytes were found in just one hedgehog (0.8%, 95% C.I.: 0-0.04), identified as . Yeasts were detected in 22 of 86 hedgehogs (25.6%, 95% C.I.: 16.4-34.8), with 25 isolates obtained, including 21 , 2 , 1 , and 1 . All isolates showed a high susceptibility to the antimycotic panel tested. Monitoring zoonotic fungi harbored by European hedgehogs, as well as raising public awareness on the topic, is of great importance for public health.
欧洲刺猬是许多具有健康意义的病原体的重要宿主。由于刺猬与人类密切接触，潜在的人畜共患真菌引发了重大的公共卫生问题，尤其是在刺猬密度高的地区。2020年至2023年，对134只刺猬进行了潜在人畜共患真菌的调查。采用了非侵入性方法，如用无菌牙刷刷洗活体动物，并从死亡动物（86只）身上采集口腔和直肠拭子。皮肤癣菌在 Dermasel 琼脂上培养，并用分子工具进行鉴定，而酵母菌则在含氯霉素的沙氏琼脂上分离，并用念珠菌显色琼脂（意大利卡利亚里的 MicroBiolDiagnostici）和基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（德国不来梅的 Bruker Daltonics 公司的 Microflex LT Smart Biotyper 及 FlexControlBiotyper 3.4 软件）进行鉴定。测定了分离株的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）。仅在一只刺猬（0.8%，95%置信区间：0-0.04）中发现皮肤癣菌，鉴定为 。在86只刺猬中的22只（25.6%，95%置信区间：16.4-34.8）中检测到酵母菌，共获得25个分离株，包括21个 、2个 、1个 和1个 。所有分离株对所测试的抗真菌药物组均表现出高度敏感性。监测欧洲刺猬携带的人畜共患真菌，并提高公众对该主题的认识，对公共卫生非常重要。
