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Trichophyton erinacei Infection from a Hedgehog: A Case Report from Taiwan

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Abstract

Trichophyton erinacei is a fungus affecting hedgehogs. As these animals have become popular as exotic pets, human infections with this organism have been documented in many countries. In Taiwan, a 36-year-old woman developed tinea lesions at multiple sites after carrying a sick hedgehog. The animal subsequently lost its quills and died. On culture of the patient’s skin scrapings, the pathogen was identified mycologically as Trichophyton erinacei, which was confirmed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacers of the fungal nuclear ribosomal DNA. The same fungus was isolated from the sawdust bed previously used by the diseased hedgehog. A careful contact history is important for identifying this emerging zoonosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, No. 92, Section 2, Chungshan North Road, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chih-Wei Hsieh, Pei-Lun Sun & Yu-Hung Wu

  2. Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Pei-Lun Sun

  3. Mackay Medicine, Nursing and Management College, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yu-Hung Wu

Authors
  1. Chih-Wei Hsieh
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  2. Pei-Lun Sun
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  3. Yu-Hung Wu
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Correspondence to Pei-Lun Sun.

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Hsieh, CW., Sun, PL. & Wu, YH. Trichophyton erinacei Infection from a Hedgehog: A Case Report from Taiwan. Mycopathologia 170, 417–421 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-010-9333-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-010-9333-2

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