Abstract
A 3-year-old male chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) shot during a harvest plan in Piedmont (Italy) presented periocular alopecic and thickened crusty lesions, some of which slightly red in colour. Hair still present was broken and easily removed. Direct microscopic examination of the pathological material collected by skin scraping led to the diagnosis of dermatophytosis, as the hair shafts appeared invaded by unstained spherical spores (arthroconidia). Fungal growth was obtained by culturing hair and crusts on thiamine/inositol enriched Sabouraud’s medium at 37°C. The macro- and microscopic characteristics of the organism were typical of the dermatophyte Trichophyton verrucosum. Wild ruminants are rarely affected by dermatophytosis, whereas in cattle, sheep and goats, infection because of this dermatophyte is quite common. This seems to be the first case of infection by T. verrucosum in chamois.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ajello L (1968) A taxonomic review of the dermatophytes and related species. Sabouraudia 6(2):147–159
Alteras I, Nesterov V, Ciolofan I (1966) The occurrence of dermatophytes in wild animals from Rumania. Sabouraudia 4(4):215–218
Alteras I, Nesterov V, Ciolofan I (1968) Infection by Microsporum gypseum in the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). Sabouraudia 6(2):138–139
Bildfell RJ, Hedstrom OR, Dearing PL (2004) Outbreak of dermatophytosis in farmed mink in the USA. Vet Rec 155:746–748
Cabanes FJ, Abarca ML, Bragulat MR (1997) Dermatophytes isolated from domestic animals in Barcelona, Spain. Mycopathologia 137:107–113
Caffara M, Scagliarini A (1999) Study of diseases of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Italy. First isolation of the dermatophyte Microsporum cookei. Med Mycol 37(1):75–77
Chabasse D, Guiguen C, Couatarmanac’h A, Launay H, Reecht V, De Bièvre C (1987) Contribution to the knowledge of keratinophilic fungi isolated from small wild mammals and European rabbit in France, discussion about fungal species found. Ann Parasitol Hum Comp 62(4):337–368
De Hoog GS, Guarro J, Gené J, Figueras MJ (2000) Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd edn. Centralbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, The Netherlands, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain
English MP, Bayley JA (1978) Dermatophytes in a population of bank-voles and woodmice. Mycopathologia 66:67–71
Fadlelmula A, Agab H, La Horgne JM, Abbas B, Abdalla AE (1994) First isolation of Trichophyton verrucosum as the aetiology of ringworm in the Sudanese camels (Camelus dromedarius). Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop 47(2):184–187
Fernández-Morán J, Gómez S, Ballesteros F, Quirós P, Benito JL, Feliu C, Nieto JM (1997) Epizootiology of sarcoptic mange in a population of cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) in northwestern Spain.Vet Parasitol 73(1–2):163–171
Gallo MG, Lanfranchi P, Poglayen G, Calderola S, Menzano A, Ferroglio E, Peano A (2005a) Seasonal 4-year investigation into the role of the alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) as a carrier of zoophilic dermatophytes. Med Mycol 43(4):373–379
Gallo MG, Tizzani P, Peano A, Rambozzi L, Meneguz PG (2005b) Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) as carrier of dermatophyte fungi. Mycopathologia 160(2):163–166
Hudson PJ, Rizzoli A, Grenfell BT, Heesterbeeck H, Dobson AP (2002) The ecology of wildlife diseases. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Janovitz EB, Long GG (1984) Dermatomycosis in ranch foxes. J Am Vet Med Assoc 185(11):1393–1394
Knudtson WU, Gates CE, Ruth GR (1980) Trichophyton mentagrophytes Dermatophytosis in wild fox. J Wildl Dis 16 (4):465–469
Kubo H, Tamura T, Iizuka H, Shibaki H, Udawa S (1990) Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from hair of wild fox (Vulpes vulpes schrenckii) and soil from affected areas in Hokkaido prefecture of Japan. Jap J Med Mycol 31(4):317–324
Kuntze A, Gemeinhardt H, Bensch GJ (1967) On a Microsporum canis endemy in zoo animals, with occupational infection in man. Mykosen 10(1):7–18
Kwon-Chung KJ, Bennett JE (1992) Medical Mycology. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, PA
Mahamoud AL (1993) Dermatophytes and others associated fungi isolated from ringworm lesions of camel. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 38(6):505–508
Mancianti F, Papini R, Poli A (1993) Mycological survey from coats of red foxes in Italy. J Med Mycol 3:109–111
Mancianti F, Mignone W, Papini R (1997) Keratinophilic fungi from coats of wild boars in Italy. J Wildl Dis 33:340–342
Mantovani A, Morganti L, Battelli G, Poglayen G, Tampieri MP, Vecchi G (1982) The role of wild animals in the ecology of dermatophytes and related fungi. Folia Parasitol (Praha) 29:279–284
Mariat F, Chatelain J, Rouffaud MA (1976) Study of the contamination by dermatophytes of population of small mammals in Alsace. Mycopathologia 58(2):71–78
Ming PX, Ti YL, Bulmer GS (2006) Outbreak of Trichophyton verrucosum in China transmitted from cows to humans. Mycopathologia 161:225–228
Mitra SK, Sikdar A, Das P (1998) Dermatophytes isolated from selected ruminants in India. Mycopathologia 142(1):13–16
Rebell G, Taplin D (1974) Dermatophytes. Their recognition and identification, 2nd edn. Miami Press, Coral Gables, FL
Richomme C, Gautier D, Fromont E (2005) Contact rates and exposure to inter-species diseases transmission in mountain ungulates. Epidemiol Infect 134(1):21–30
Ryser-Degiorgis MP, Ingold P, Tenhu H, Tebar Less AM, Ryser A, Giacometti M (2002) Encounters between Alpine Ibex, Alpine Chamois and domestic sheep in the Swiss Alps. Hystrix 13(12):1–11
Sargison ND, Thomson JR, Scott PR, Hopkins G (2002) Ringworm caused by Trichophyton verrucosum—an emerging problem in sheep flocks. Vet Rec 150:755–756
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by C. Gortazar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Peano, A., Tizzani, P., Gallo, M.G. et al. Dermatophytosis due to Trichophyton verrucosum in a chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) . Eur J Wildl Res 54, 153–156 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-007-0120-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-007-0120-4