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Epidemiological aspects of dermatophytoses in domestc animals in Croatia between 1991 and 2000

A retrospective study of records during the 10 year period (from January 1991 to December 2000), from the Mycology laboratory of the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb in Croatia, was conducted in order to investigate the frequency and infecting species of dermatophytoses in domestic animals. A total of 2518 dogs, 1759 cats, 211 cattle, 50 horses, 20 goats, 101 rabbits, 40 chinchillas and 71 guinea pigs, with suspected dermatophytosis, were examined. Out of these animals, 520 (20.6%) dogs, 725 (41.2%) cats, 77 (36.5%) cattle, 3(15%) goats, 27 (26.7%) rabbits, 7(17.5%) chinchillas and 2 (2.8%) guinea pigs were found to have dermatophyte infection. M. canis was isolated in 89% and 98% of the positive samples from dogs and cats respectively, while T. mentagrophytes and M. gypseum were isolated sporadically from these animals. The prevalence was found to be significantly higher in cats (P<0.001) than dogs. Infected animals were mostly crossbred dogs and cats with high proportion of animals up to one year of age. In cattle, T. verrucosum was isolated from all culture positive samples. The most frequent isolate from fur animals (rabbits and chinchillas) was T. mentagrophytes. In the early nineties, during the war period and soon after, a significant increase in dermatophyte infections with M. canis, particularly in cats, was observed in Croatia. These results indicate that dermatophytoses, particularly M. canis and T. mentagrophytes. In the early nineties, during the war period and soon after, a significant increase in dermatophyte infections with M. canis , particularly in cats, was observed in Croatia. These results indicate that dermatophytoses, particularly M. canis and T. verrucosum are now endemic in Croatia and that this situation in likely to persist. Therefore, dermatophytoses are serious and important zoonotic diseases of domestic animals, which have to be regularly encountered in our clinical practice.

dermatophytoses; dermatophytes; epidemiology; Croatia

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