Control of infection caused by Microsporum canis in pet animals are important for prevention of zoonosis. Treatments for animal dermatophytosis have generally consisted of itraconazole (ITZ) and ...terbinafine (TRF); however, a TRF-resistant M. canis strain from a case of feline dermatophytosis has been reported. In the present study, we examined the in vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates of M. canis to new antifungal drugs, such as ravuconazole (RVZ) and luliconazole (LCZ). The results indicated that RVZ and LCZ are more effective than ITZ and TRF. Therefore, oral administration of RVZ or topical application of LCZ may serve as new treatment options.
We present a 17-year-old Japanese male high school student, who had applied steroid ointment for atopic dermatitis, with fingernail onychomycosis due to Trichophyton tonsurans. He was found positive ...for T. tonsurans infection based on hairbrush culture performed due to an epidemic of T. tonsurans infection in his judo club. The hairbrush culture method is very important in screening for this infection, and dermatologists should examine the entire body of athletes who are found positive using this method. For the diagnosis of T. tonsurans infection, other than the skin and hair, the nails should also be checked by dermoscopy because the fingernail may be the origin of this fungus.
Two pediatric cases of Microsporum canis infection that occurred in a cat breeder family and the isolation of dermatophytes from their 166 breeding cats are reported. The patients were a 16-month-old ...girl and her 26-month-old sister who both had tinea capitis. Their family consisted of six members: the sisters, their great-grandmother, grandmother, grandfather, and mother. Except for the two sisters, the family had no history of skin lesions. The grandmother had been a cat breeder for 20 years. We tested the cats using the hairbrush technique, and 56 of the 158 cats (35%) tested were positive for M. canis. In particular, cultures performed from 4 cats developed M. canis colonies that grew densely from all spikes on the hairbrush. On the basis of observations of the cultures, cutaneous infection was suspected when five or more colonies grew on a single plate medium (9 cats), whereas growth of fewer colonies was thought to suggest saprophytic colonization on cat hair. M. canis is known to be highly transmittable among cats, but 65% of the cats investigated remained negative. It was thus considered possible to prevent further spread of infection by practicing basic infection control and improving the environment.
The incidence of non-dermatophyte mould onychomycosis has been increasing worldwide for the past several decades, but it is not well recognized in Japan. Recent molecular techniques and phylogenetic ...analyses contributed to the identification of uncommon and emerging species. We came across 13 (0.5%) cases of non-dermatophyte onychomycosis among a total of 2,591 onychomycosis cases in 106,703 outpatients during the past 5 years (January 2015-December 2019). The cases included 5 patients with Aspergillus species, 4 patients with Fusarium species, and one patient each with Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and Botryosphaeria dothidea, respectively. Botryosphaeria dothidea is closely related phylogenetically to Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. In Japan, at the time of writing this report, there are 26 reported cases of ungual aspergillosis and 18 cases of hyalohyphomycosis caused by Fusarium species. We summarize these cases and report the symptoms and mycological features.
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