Abstract:

Xia Xiujiao, Liu Zehu, Shen Hong, Xu Ai′e. Department of Dermatology, Third People′s Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310009, China Corresponding author: Xia Xiujiao, Email: 804534095@qq.com 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the distribution and epidemiology of fungal pathogens in zoonotic dermatophytoses. Methods Seventy-four patients with dermatophytoses and 72 pets from 64 families, who were all culture positive for dermatophytes, were included in this study and classified into 64 family-based groups. Fungal culture and direct microscopic examination were carried out for species identification of fungal isolates, internal transcribed spacer （ITS） sequence analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD） analysis were performed for molecular identification and homology analysis. Results Dermatophyte species were consistent among the patients and pets from the same families for all the 64 family-based groups. A total of 146 fungal strains were isolated, including 93 Microsporum canis （M. canis） strains and 53 Trichophyton interdigitale （T. interdigitale） strains. M. canis was isolated from 42 （65.7%） family-based groups including 34 groups keeping cats and 8 groups keeping dogs, while T. interdigitale from 22 （34.3%） groups, including 14 groups keeping rabbits, 6 groups keeping cats and 2 groups keeping dogs. There were 54 （75.0%） pets with obvious clinical symptoms （erythema, desquamation, depilation, etc）, and 18 （25.0%） asymptomatic pets which were all cats. Among the 18 asymptomatic cats, 14 carried M. canis, and 4 T. interdigitale. ITS sequencing and RAPD analysis revealed a high homology between the fungal pathogens in the same family-based groups. Conclusions M. canis and T. interdigitale are common species of dermatophytes in zoonotic dermatophytoses, and both of them have host specificity. Zoonotic dermatophytes can be transmitted between human and domestic animals, and attention should be paid to asymptomatic animals （carriers）.