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A case of distal subungual onychomycosis of the big toe due to Microsporum canis is reported in a 69-year-old male asthma patient who had been treated with systemic corticosteroids for the last 3 years. The nail infection was contracted from a cat who was a healthy carrier. The patient was treated successfully with intermittent itraconazole therapy.
In this study, the coats of 20 cats with no dermatophytosis lesions were sampled for colonization by Microsporum canis, which was isolated in 45% of cases. All cats were treated with oral terbinafine for 3 weeks. The drug was administered orally at a daily dosage 8.25 mg kg-1. Mycologic status was assessed at the end of the treatment; and after follow-up at 2 days, and 4 and 9 weeks. The final evaluation revealed a complete mycologic cure of all cats by obtaining negative cultures, thereby demonstrating that terbinafine is an effective method of eradication of dermatophyte colonization.
Microsporum canis infection, seldom reported in calves, is described. The organism was isolated from skin scrapings collected from ringworm lesions mainly on the heads of 2 naturally infected calves. The organism was studied in vitro, and experimentally on guinea-pigs.
The 1- to 2-month-old female cross-breed cat presented with alopecia, erythema and many crusts were present on the tail. Microscopic examination of crusts from the tail disclosed epithelial debris, exudate, mycelium, and arthrospores. Microsporum gypseum which is rarely isolated from cats as a causative agent of dermatophytsis was cultured from the crusts on a 1/10 Sabouraud glucose agar at 27 degrees C for 1 week. The isolate of M. gypseum from the cat was examined by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD), chitin synthase 1 gene (CHS1) sequence and mating experiments. The RAPD band patterns of the clinical isolate of M. gypseum was identical to those of tester strains of Arthroderma gypseum. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the CHS1 gene fragments from the isolate and a tester strain of A. gypseum showed 100% similarity. The mating experiments on the clinical isolate of M. gypseum completely agreed with the results from RAPD and CHS1 gene sequence. The isolate from the cat was confirmed to be A. gypseum (-) mating type, which was consistent with the result of mycological examination by molecular analyses.
We report the case of a 20-year-old man, a professional cyclist, with multiple scaling plaques on his limbs that had been present for 40 days. Our case of tinea corporis presented some peculiarities related to the aetiological agent Microsporum canis and also its mode of transmission.
Some aspects in forensic medical examination of hairs damaged by Microsporum canis are discussed. The data of microscopic, fluorescent, and serological studies of damaged hairs and methods for their examination are presented.
The authors present the fourth Brazilian case of human Microsporum nanum (M. nanum) infection. A child of nine months old presents cutaneous dorsal lesions compatible with tinea corporis, which appeared one month before. The culture revealed M. nanum. The lesions resolved spontaneously after a month. Epidemiologic investigation in the patient's place of origin identified swine infected by M. nanum, indicating the probable source of the infection.
One hundred thirty-four isolates of Microsporum canis, obtained from cats, were tested for in vitro susceptibility to various antifungal agents. The fungi were classified as susceptible, resistant, and intermediate by measuring the size of the zone of inhibited growth on yeast nitrogen base agar medium. Clotrimazole had the highest activity (99.2%), followed by tioconazole (89.6%), griseofulvin (88.8%), econazole (73.1%), ketoconazole (50.7%), miconazole (15.7%), and isoconazole (12.7%). We found 14.9% of the isolates to be susceptible to all the assayed drugs, whereas the highest resistance frequency (41.8%) was against 2 antimycotics. A simultaneous resistance to all the tested antimycotics was not found. The differences among the antifungal drugs activity were examined, and administration of drugs for which a simultaneous resistance was minimal is suggested.
MEP3 of Microsporum canis encodes a 43.5 kDa extracellular keratinolytic metalloprotease, which is thought to be one of the virulence-related factors in dermatophytosis. In order to analyze the system underlying the regulation of MEP3 gene expression, the 5'-upstream region was isolated by inverse PCR. The nucleotide sequence of a DNA fragment of about 2.1 kb containing the coding region contains putative transcription factor binding sites and transcriptional initiation points. Further analyses of the regulatory sequence may be useful for understanding the molecular basis of the coordinated expression of the various genes involved in dermatophytosis.
One case of severe canine onychomycosis is described. The aetiological agent was identified as Microsporum gypseum. The incidence of this fungus in this kind of pathology is discussed, with special attention to the successful treatment with topic enilconazole and systemic griseofulvin.
OBJECTIVE: The antifungal activity of various solvent extracts (such as ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol) of the plant Phyllanthus amarus against dermatophytic fungi Microsporum gypseum was observed. METHOD: Antifungal bioassay in terms of reduction in weight, colony diameter and sporulation of the target fungal colony was carried out using Broth Dilution method. Results Root part of the plant, extracted in various organic solvents did not show any noticeable antifungal activity. The percentage inhibition observed in different solvent extracts of aerial part was found as reduction in weight: chloroform [50.3%], ethyl acetate [27.7%] and ethyl alcohol [12.1%], reduction in colony diameter: chloroform [53.4%], ethyl acetate [31.4%] and ethyl alcohol [15.0%] and reduction in sporulation: maximum inhibition in chloroform extract, at test concentration of 4000 ppm at incubation period of 8 days. CONCLUSION: Chloroform fraction of the aerial part of the plant P. amarus shows significant inhibitory effect against dermatophytic fungi M. gypseum and requires chemical characterization for its bioactive principle.
Morphometry is a newly applied method for investigation of the in-vitro growth dynamics of dermatophyte colonies. This study was undertaken to evaluate the correlation and agreement rates between the morphometric data obtained by different observers. For this purpose, five different Microsporum canis growth data were evaluated by six observers. The results of the study suggested that the agreement rates among the data obtained by different observers were low (R1 = -5.3509), while the results obtained by a single observer at different reading time points were consistent and correlated with the estimated growth rate. We thus recommend the evaluation of morphometric test results by a single observer for optimal standardization and consistency.
Microsporum gypseum is a geophilic fungus infrequent agent of human dermatophytoses and world-wide in distribution. In Cadiz, Spain, between 1997 and 2003, a study of 133 positive cases showed that the fifth more isolated dermatophyte was M. gypseum (6.0%), followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (24,8%), Microsporun canis (24,6%), Trichophyton rubrum (21,8%) y Trichophyton violaceum (6,8%). During 2003 the infection due to this fungus has been repeatedly observed in our area (17.5%). We report herein eight new cases of infection by M. gypseum. Our epidemiological data were compared with those obtained by other authors in other regions of Spain and in those reported in other countries.
Antifungal activity (reduction in colony diameter) of various extracts (pt. ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and aqueous) of aerial and root parts of Boerhavia diffusa (Nictaginaceae) was screened against dermatophytic fungi Microsporum fulvum. Statistically significant increase has been recorded in the % inhibition of the target fungal species with increasing test concentrations (1000-5000 ppm) of chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol extracts of the root. The maximum % inhibition observed in various solvent extracts of root was about 26% (chloroform), 46% (ethyl alcohol) and 57% (ethyl acetate) at 5000 ppm concentration with time exposure of 10 days. The colony diameter of the target mycelial colony decreased with increasing supplementation of the phytoextract, showing the presence of significant amount of some antifungal phytochemical moiety.
Various extracts petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol) of aerial and root parts of Boerhavia diffusa was sereened for Antitungal activity (Inhibition in sporulation) against dermatophytic fungi Microsporum gypseum, M. fulvum and M. canis by using broth dilution method. Extracts of aerial part not show any noticeable antifungal activity. Ethyl acetate extract of root part of the plant was found to be most effective of against target fungal species. The maximum inhibition of mycelial growth was observed for M. gypseum (78.83%) followed by M. fulvum (62.33%) and M. canis (42.30%) of ethyl acetate in the test concentration of 1000 microg/ml 24 hours of incubation. The sporulation of target fungal species decreases with increasing supplementation of phytoextract, confirms the presence of some antifungal phytochemical moiety in roots of the plant.
Mycotic scalp infection caused by Microsporum canis is the most dominant cause of tinea capitis in Greece. Griseofulvin has been the gold standard for the treatment of tinea capitis, but it is unavailable in our country. In this study, we evaluated 111 children with M. canis tinea capitis that were treated with itraconazole. Eighty-one of them were treated with itraconazole capsule pulse therapy (group A) and 30 (group B) were treated with oral suspension administered in continuous regimen. Twenty-one patients, all from group A, were lost to follow-up, probably due to the length of this regimen. In all patients that made up the study protocol, complete cure was achieved within seven pulses for group A and 12 weeks for group B. No significant side effects to lead to the cessation of therapy were recorded. Laboratory investigations were performed in 32 randomly chosen patients and were within normal ranges. The response to therapy did not appear to depend upon the formulation administered (capsules versus suspension). Using the pulse regimen, we also believe that it is necessary to individualize the number of pulses administered according to the clinical response. In conclusion, itraconazole proved safe and effective in our study, providing an ideal alternative to griseofulvin.
Microsporum canis is a worldwide distributed zoophilic and zoonotic dermatophyte which is responsible for most cases of feline ringworm. Its prevalence is on the rise in developed countries. Since 1995, the author and his Laboratory have developed a research programme to better understand the pathogenesis of M. canis dermatophytosis. Both the potential fungal virulence factors and the host immune response were investigated. A 31.5 kDa keratinolytic subtilase (SUB) and a 43.5 kDa keratinolytic metalloprotease (MEP) were purified from a crude exoantigen consisted in a mixture of inducible proteins secreted by the fungus in a medium enriched with keratin. Additionally, two gene families encoding respectively 3 SUBs and 3 MEPs, including the 2 keratinases previously purified (called SUB3 and MEP3), were characterized. The genes encoding several MEPs and SUBs were shown to be transcribed in vivo during infection by nested RT-PCR. Finally, we demonstrated that a specific cellular immune response towards the crude exoantigen, MEP3 and SUB3 was induced in experimentally infected guinea pigs. This indicates that the potential immunoprotective properties of these antigens are interesting to evaluate in the frame of the development of an efficient vaccine against feline ringworm.
A prospective, non-randomized, open clinical trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of itraconazole for treatment of Microsporum ferrugineum tinea capitis. Itraconazole capsules were given every day in continuous group and every day for 1 week on and 3-week off in pulse therapy group. Concomitant topical therapy with 2% ketoconazole shampoo was used daily. Clinical evaluation consisted of assessing the degree of hair loss, scaling, erythema, pustule, and crust. In both groups, the treatment was stopped when the clinical signs of inflammation had resolved and the mycological examination had become negative or at week 12. There were 81 patients consisted of 49 boys and 32 girls enrolled and average dose of itraconazole was 4.5 mg/kg/day. During the 16-week study period (with 4-week follow-up visit) the overall clinical severity score decreased every visit (p < 0.001). The improvement of the scores showed no statistical difference between both groups. The cumulative cure rate using combined clinical and mycological cure at week 16 in patients treated with continuous and pulse regimen was 54.3% (19/35) and 37.0% (17/46), respectively. The cumulative percentage of all cure rates including clinical cure, mycological cure and combined clinical and mycological cure of the continuous group was significantly higher than in the pulse therapy group (p < 0.001). The superior efficacy of the continuous therapy group was observed after week 8. The cumulative cure rate increased with the longer treatment duration but decreased with the larger infected area involvement (p = 0.001). All patients who were not cured showed improvement. There was no significant adverse effect. The higher dosage or the longer treatment duration of itraconazole may be required for treatment of tinea capitis from M. ferrugineum to achieve more cure rate.