Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health: Fungal Occurrence in the Hair and Skin of Symptomatic Pets in Turin, Italy

Metadata of the chapter that will be visualized online Chapter Title Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health: Fungal Occurrence in the Hair and Skin of Symptomatic Pets in Turin, Italy Chapter Sub Title Fungi in Pets Copyright Year 2015 Copyright Holder Springer International Publishing Switzerland Author Family Name Particle Allizond Given Name Suffix Division Valeria Author Organization University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Particle Given Name Tullio Suffix Division Corresponding Author Vivian Organization Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Cuffini Particle Given Name Suffix Division Author Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory Anna Maria Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Microbiology Section Organization University of Torino Address Email Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy annamaria.cuffini@unito.it Family Name Particle Roana Given Name Suffix Division Janira Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory Organization University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Author Family Name Scalas Particle Given Name Suffix Daniela Division Author Author Organization Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Particle Marra Given Name Suffix Division Elisa Simona Organization University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Piersigilli Particle Given Name Suffix Giorgia Division Author Author Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory Organization Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Particle Mandras Given Name Suffix Division Narcisa Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory Organization University of Torino Address Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Family Name Particle Given Name Suffix Banche Division Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory University of Torino Organization Giuliana Address Abstract Keywords (separated by ‘-’) Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy Companion animals, often asymptomatic reservoir of fungi, can be important sources of infection in humans, due to the close contact with their owners. The present study was aimed to assess the occurrence of dermatophytes and other fungi isolated from pet dermatological lesions in Turin, Italy. Dermatological specimens were examined for fungal elements by direct microscopy and cultured to detect dermatophytes, other filamentous fungi and yeasts: 247 pets (118 cats, 111 dogs and 18 dwarf rabbits) were positive for fungal detection in culture. Microsporum canis was the most frequent dermatophyte in cats and dogs, whereas Trichophyton mentagrophytes was the most common in rabbits. Among the other fungi, for all examined pets, dematiaceous fungi were the most isolated, followed by Mucorales, penicilli, yeasts and yeast-like fungi, and aspergilli. No gender predisposition was detected for dermatophyte growth; on the contrary, for the other fungi male cats were more susceptible than female. The highest fungal occurrence was recorded in <1-year-old cats for dermatophytes, and in <5-year-old cats and dogs for the other fungi. Autumn was the period associated with a relevant incidence of fungal infection. Finally, fungi were more frequent in non pure-breed cats and in pure-breed dogs. These data underline the importance to timely inform pet owners about the potential health risk of infection caused not only by dermatophytes but also by non-dermatophyte fungi, routinely considered to be contaminants or harmless colonizers, since their role as source of zoonotic infections is not to be excluded. Dermatophytes - Non-dermatophyte fungi - Pets - Hair and skin lesions 1 2 3 Advs Exp. Medicine, Biology - Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health DOI 10.1007/5584_2015_5004 # Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 4 AU1 5 6 7 8 AU2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health: Fungal Occurrence in the Hair and Skin of Symptomatic Pets in Turin, Italy Valeria Allizond*, Vivian Tullio*, Anna Maria Cuffini, Janira Roana, Daniela Scalas, Elisa Simona Marra, Giorgia Piersigilli, Narcisa Mandras, and Giuliana Banche Abstract Companion animals, often asymptomatic reservoir of fungi, can be important sources of infection in humans, due to the close contact with their owners. The present study was aimed to assess the occurrence of dermatophytes and other fungi isolated from pet dermatological lesions in Turin, Italy. Dermatological specimens were examined for fungal elements by direct microscopy and cultured to detect dermatophytes, other filamentous fungi and yeasts: 247 pets (118 cats, 111 dogs and 18 dwarf rabbits) were positive for fungal detection in culture. Microsporum canis was the most frequent dermatophyte in cats and dogs, whereas Trichophyton mentagrophytes was the most common in rabbits. Among the other fungi, for all examined pets, dematiaceous fungi were the most isolated, followed by Mucorales, penicilli, yeasts and yeast-like fungi, and aspergilli. No gender predisposition was detected for dermatophyte growth; on the contrary, for the other fungi male cats were more susceptible than female. The highest fungal occurrence was recorded in <1-year-old cats for dermatophytes, and in <5year-old cats and dogs for the other fungi. Autumn was the period associated with a relevant incidence of fungal infection. Finally, fungi were more frequent in non pure-breed cats and in pure-breed dogs. These data underline the importance to timely inform pet owners about the potential health risk of infection caused not only by dermatophytes but V. Allizond*, V. Tullio*, J. Roana, D. Scalas, E.S. Marra, G. Piersigilli, N. Mandras, and G. Banche Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory, University of Torino, Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy A.M. Cuffini (*) Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, Microbiology Section, University of Torino, Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy e-mail: annamaria.cuffini@unito.it V. Allizond et al. also by non-dermatophyte fungi, routinely considered to be contaminants or harmless colonizers, since their role as source of zoonotic infections is not to be excluded. 34 35 36 Keywords 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 Dermatophytes • Non-dermatophyte fungi • Pets • Hair and skin lesions 1 Introduction Considering the close contact between pets and their owners, especially between children and cats and dogs, these animals, often asymptomatic carries of dermatophytes, can be important sources of infection and/or carriers of infection (Mattei et al. 2014). In addition, evidence exists that rodents, such as rabbits, may be a risk of infection for their owners and for those who work closely with them (Torres-Rodrı́guez et al. 1992; Hata et al. 2000; Spiewak and Szostak 2000). It is widely known that animals are the reservoir of many dermatophytes belonging to the genera Microsporum spp. and Trichophyton spp., and that dermatophytoses are usually disseminated among domestic animals. M. canis, M. gypseum and T. mentagrophytes are the main etiological agents of clinical dermatophytosis in pets (Bond 2010; Kraemer et al. 2012). The disease is characterized by alopecia, scaling and crusting; however, other filamentous fungi could mimic dermatophyte lesions rendering them indistinguishable from that of dermatophytes. These non-dermatophytic fungi isolated from animal lesions could have pathogenic potential and/or keratinolytic activity. In fact many of these species, such as Alternaria spp., Scopulariopsis spp., Penicillium spp., Rhizopus spp. and Fusarium spp., are reported to be involved in fungal disease development and are increasingly recognized as agent of diseases both in animals and humans (Aho 1983; Bagy and Abdel-Mallek 1991; Seyedmousavi et al. 2015). Therefore, the aim of this report was to determine the occurrence, in Turin (Italy), of dermatophyte and non-dermatophyte fungi from living indoor cats, dogs and dwarf rabbits with lesions, referable to mycoses, for health monitoring since they are out by an appropriate health check. 76 2 78 2.1 Animals and Methods Animals 77 79 In the period between March 2007 and November 2014, clinical dermatological specimens from 362 indoor domestic animals (195 cats, 149 dogs and 18 dwarf rabbits) were collected at Veterinary Clinics located in Turin. Pets, with suspected dermatophytosis, presented dermatological clinical signs such as scales, folliculitis, crusts and alopecic areas with variable degrees of inflammation and itch. Specimens (hair, scaling, crusts and/or skin scraping) were taken from head, abdomen, back and legs using a sterile lancet or pliers. The samples were submitted to the Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory, Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, Turin, and processed. 80 2.2 96 Epidemiological Data Collection The age, sex, breed, habitat in which animals lived and the presence of clinical signs were recorded for each animal. To assess the seasonal pattern of fungal infections, the sampling period was divided into four groups: spring (March–May), summer (June–August), autumn (September–November) and winter (December–February). 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 Fungi in Pets 106 2.3 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 Fungal Isolation and Identification Specimens were examined for fungal elements by direct microscopy at 400 magnification after imbibitions in 20 % KOH. Multiple inocula (at least five) of the clinical specimens were cultured on Mycosel agar (MYC; Merck, Germany) to detect dermatophytes and Sabouraud dextrose agar (SAB; Sigma, St. Louis, Mo) for other filamentous fungi and yeasts. If the lesions were treated with antimycotics or covered in pus or other materials, they were first carefully washed with soap and water. The plates were incubated at 25  C for at least 4 weeks and examined twice weekly. Cultures were held for at least 4 weeks before being considered negative. Each developing colony was isolated in pure culture on the following media: MYC (dermatophytes), Czapek’s dox agar (Merck; aspergilli and penicillia), Potato dextrose agar (Merck; Fusarium spp.), modified Dixon agar (Merck; Malassezia spp.) and SAB (other filamentous fungi, yeasts and yeast-like fungi). The filamentous fungi, Malassezia pachydermatis and the yeast-like fungi were identified according to their colonial morphology and the microscopic appearance of the fungal elements (Raper and Fennell 1965; Rebell and Taplin 1979; Ellis 1993; Gueho et al. 1996; Guillot et al. 1996; de Hoog et al. 2000; Pitt 2000), whereas the yeasts were identified by API ID 32C (bioMérieux Italia S.p.A.; Italy). 2.4 Statistical Analysis The chi-square test was performed for the analysis associations of the categorized variables: sex, age, season and breed. A p value of <0.05 was considered significant. 3 Results This study included 362 symptomatic pets with marked skin lesions, characterized by alopecic areas, more or less itching, scabbed, disseminated in several body regions (head, abdomen, back, legs; data not shown), indistinguishable between dermatophytic and non-dermatophytic ones. Out of 362 domestic animals, 282 were positive for fungal elements at direct examination and 247 were positive for fungal detection in culture (118 cats, 111 dogs and all 18 dwarf rabbits; Table 1). 54.25 % of cat samples, 38.75 % of dog samples and 27.78 % of rabbit samples were positive for dermatophytes: M. canis was the most frequent dermatophyte isolated from cats and dogs, whereas M. gypseum and T. mentagrophytes were isolated from 2 dogs and 5 rabbits, respectively. The remaining fungal cultures (54.66 %; Table 1) were positive for other filamentous fungi and yeasts. In details: dematiaceous (Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum nigrum, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. sphaerospermum, C. herbarum, Aureobasidium pullulans and Nigrospora spp.) for 34.44 %; hyaline mycetes, represented by penicilli (Penicillium brevi-compactum, P. griseofulvum, P. waksmanii), aspergilli (Aspergillus niger, A. versicolor and A. fumigatus), Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride and Fusarium spp. for 10.11 %; Mucorales, represented by Rhizopus oryzae and Mucor hiemalis, for 6.07 %; yeasts and yeast-like fungi, represented by Candida spp., M. pachydermatis and Geotrichum candidum, for 4.04 %. In all positive animals, males were more than females (Table 2); however no gender predisposition was detected for dermatophyte growth; on the contrary, male cats were significantly (p ¼ 0.0224) more susceptible than female for other fungi. It can be highlighted the highest dermatophyte occurrence in <1-year-old cats ( p < 0.0001) and the presence of other fungi in <5-year-old positive cats ( p < 0.0001) and dogs ( p ¼ 0.0276; Table 2). All positive rabbits were less than 1-year-old. Positive samples for dermatophytes and other fungi were recorded in autumn (September–November) for all companion animals: a significant seasonal difference was detected for dogs ( p ¼ 0.0168; Table 2). Finally, fungi were more frequent in pure-breed dogs and in non pure-breed cats (Table 2), without statistical significant differences. 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 V. Allizond et al. t:1 Table 1 Isolation and occurrence of fungal species (%) t:2 Cats Dogs Rabbits t:3 118/195a 111/149 18/18 247/362 t:4 (60.51 %) (74.50 %) (100 %) (68.23 %) t:5 Positive animals examined n % n % n % n % 64 – – 64 54.25 41 2 – 43 36.95 1.80 – 38.75 – – 5 5 – – 27.78 27.78 105 2 5 112 42.51 0.81 2.02 45.34 16 11 5 2 – – 2 36 13.56 9.32 4.24 1.69 – – 1.69 30.50 18 14 7 2 2 2 – 45 16.22 12.61 6.31 1.80 1.80 1.80 – 40.54 – – – – – 4 – 4 – – – – – 22.22 – 22.22 34 25 12 4 2 6 2 85 13.78 10.12 4.87 1.62 0.81 2.43 0.81 34.44 5 1 – 2 – – 1 1 – 10 4.24 0.85 – 1.69 0.85 0.85 – 8.48 2 – 2 – 1 4 – – 2 11 1.80 – 1.80 – 0.90 3.61 – – 1.80 9.91 4 – – – – – – – – 4 22.22 – – – – – – – – 22.22 11 1 2 2 1 4 1 1 2 25 4.46 0.40 0.81 0.81 0.40 1.62 0.40 0.40 0.81 10.11 3 2 5 2.54 1.69 4.23 5 – 5 4.50 – 4.50 5 – 5 27.78 – 27.78 13 2 15 5.26 0.81 6.07 1 – 2 – 3 0.85 – 1.69 – 2.54 – 2 3 2 7 – 1.80 2.70 1.80 6.30 – – – – – 1 2 5 2 10 0.40 0.81 2.02 0.81 4.04 t:6 t:7 t:8 t:9 t:10 t:11 t:12 t:13 t:14 t:15 t:16 t:17 t:18 t:19 t:20 t:21 t:22 t:23 t:24 t:25 t:26 t:27 t:28 t:29 t:30 t:31 t:32 t:33 t:34 t:35 t:36 t:37 t:38 t:39 t:40 t:41 t:42 Dermatophytes Microsporum canis M. gypseum Trichophyton mentagrophytes Total Dematiaceous mycetes Alternaria alternata Epicoccum nigrum Cladosporium cladosporioides C. sphaerospermum C. herbarum Aureobasidium pullulans Nigrospora spp. Total Hyaline mycetes Penicillium brevi-compactum P. griseofulvum P. waksmanii Aspergillus niger A. versicolor A. fumigatus Trichoderma harzianum T. viride Fusarium spp. Total Zygomycetes Rhizopus oryzae Mucor hiemalis Total Yeasts and yeast-like fungi Candida tropicalis C. albicans Malassezia pachydermatis Geotrichum candidum Total 54.25 4 195 Over the past two decades, studies of dermatophytoses from domestic or wild animals have been described worldwide (Brilhante 197 – – – – – a Positive/total; n ¼ number of cases of isolation; % ¼ percentage frequency of occurrence (calculated per number of positive animals sampled) 194 196 Total Discussion et al. 2003; Khosravi and Mahmoudi 2003; Cafarchia et al. 2004; Bond 2010; Kraemer et al. 2012). In some countries, such as Italy and France, M. canis is the most common etiological agent, whereas in Spain it varies in relation to the geographical area (Torres-Rodrı́guez 198 199 200 201 202 203 Fungi in Pets t:1 Table 2 Prevalence of dermatophytes and other fungi in cats, dogs and rabbits in relation to epidemiological variablesa t:2 Cats t:3 Dermatophytes Positivity/n % 34/121 28.10 30/74 40.54 p ¼ 0.0224 41/96 42.71 16/81 19.75 7/18 38.89 p < 0.0001 14/38 36.84 4/15 26.67 32/101 31.68 14/41 34.15 p ¼ 0.3695 – – 23/59 38.98 41/136 30.15 p ¼ 0.1216 t:4 t:5 Sex Male Female Age <1 year 1–5 years >5 years Seasons Spring Summer Autumn Winter Breed Cross-breed Pure-breed Other breed t:6 t:7 t:8 t:9 t:10 t:11 t:12 t:13 t:14 t:15 t:16 t:17 t:18 t:19 t:20 t:21 a Dogs Other fungi Positivity/n 39/121 15/74 % 32.23 20.27 17/96 33/81 4/18 17.71 40.74 22.22 9/38 5/15 29/101 11/41 23.68 33.33 28.71 26.83 – 13/59 41/136 – 22.03 30.15 Dermatophytes Positivity/n % 24/85 28.23 19/64 29.69 p ¼ 0.7867 22/62 35.48 9/45 20.0 12/42 28.57 p ¼ 0.0276 4/21 19.04 7/23 30.43 22/78 28.21 10/27 37.04 p ¼ 0.0168 15/39 38.46 28/110 25.45 – – p ¼ 0.1216 Rabbits Other fungi Positivity/n 39/85 29/64 % 45.88 45.31 24/62 25/45 19/42 38.71 55.55 45.24 12/21 10/23 36/78 10/27 57.14 43.48 46.15 37.04 14/39 54/110 – 35.90 49.09 – The chi-square test was used for the analysis associations of the categorized variables: sex, age, season and breed A p value of <0.05 was considered significant Dermatophytes Positivity/n % – – 5/5 100 p < 0.0001 5/18 27.78 – – – – N.A. – – – – 5/5 100 – – N.A. – – 5/18 27.78 – – N.A. Other fungi Positivity/n 13/13 – % 100 – 13/18 – – 72.22 – – 4/4 – – 9/9 100 – – 100 – 13/18 – – 72.22 – V. Allizond et al. 204 205 206 207 208 209 AU3 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 et al. 1992). In our study (Table 1) M. canis was the most frequent dermatophyte isolated in cats and dogs, confirming previous reports in Turin and in other sites in Italy, indicating that this fungus did not vary over the years (Marchisio et al. 1995; Mantovani 1978; Chermette et al. 2008; Bond 2010); M. gypseum and T. mentagrophytes were isolated from dogs and rabbits, respectively, underlying that these dermatophytes affect other pets (Chermette et al. 2008; Bond 2010). Additionally, our data report 5 M. canis isolated from asymptomatic cats (data not shown) whose owners manifested skin mycoses, indicating that cats are at present recognized as major sources of infection for their owners, confirming literature data (Cafarchia et al. 2006). As reported by Bond (2010), asymptomatic carriers cats are especially risky for humans, because no precautions are taken to prevent potential transfer; however, such cats may progress to develop overt infection and more abundant arthroconidia shedding. Infected cats have been shown to cause substantial environmental contamination and a significant airborne load of viable fungal elements, whereas dogs are of lesser importance in this regard. Other filamentous fungi are common in the environment and their conidia are transported by air currents and settled on pet fur. Among these moulds, dematiaceous fungi and Fusarium spp., isolated in this study (Table 1), are nowadays well recognized as etiological agents of mycosis in animals and humans too (Bagy and AbdelMallek 1991; Noble et al. 1997; Huttova et al. 1998; Kluger et al. 2004; Walsh et al. 2004; Sanchez and Larsen 2007; Fan et al. 2009; Ryoo et al. 2009). For example, a case of Alternaria peritonitis after contact with a cat and the involvement in pet skin infections of Fusarium spp., a well-recognized cause of human diseases, were reported (Kluger et al. 2004; Ryoo et al. 2009). In this study Alternaria, Epicoccum, Cladosporium and Fusarium isolates probably played a role in the pathogenicity: they were no sporadic and many colonies were seen on the plates in each case. Furthermore, we isolated some saprophytic fungi, commonly found in air and soil, such as Mucorales besides penicillin and aspergilli (Table 1). Albeit the recovery of these fungi was consistent with the findings of other authors (Bagy and Abdel-Mallek 1991; Keller et al. 2000; Efuntoye and Fashanu 2002; Ledbetter et al. 2007), further studies are required to verify and confirm their pathogenesis in companion animals. Trichoderma spp., a saprophytic fungus commonly found in soil, isolated only from a cat in our study, has been reported among emerging fungal pathogens for both animals and humans (Table 1) (Kluger et al. 2004; Kantarcioğlu et al. 2009). From a veterinary point of view, our findings related to the yeast M. pachydermatis from cat and dog skin lesions may have a great significance (Table 1). It can be found in very large proportion on the skin of healthy animals and it is the only lipid-independent species in the genus Malassezia; however since the early 1990s M. pachydermatis was isolated from lesions of atopic dermatitis, flea allergic dermatitis, otitis externa, pyoderma and seborrheic dermatitidis in dogs and cats (Aizawa et al. 2001; Dorogi 2002; 2010). Although Khosravi et al. M. pachydermatis is not normally isolated from human skin, there have been several reports of M. pachydermatis-associated fungaemia in infants in neonatal intensive care unit and in adults with serious internal diseases (Bond et al. 2010; ESCCAP Guideline 2011). Literature data on sex, age, seasonality and breed are still controversial (Khosravi and Mahmoudi 2003; Cafarchia et al. 2004; Cabanes et al. 1997). With regard to the sex, from our results, in both cats and dogs no significant difference between the sexes for dermatophyte growth has been detected. Among cats, males were significantly more susceptible than females to other fungi occurrence (Table 2): this may be accounted for a different composition of sebum between males and females, as suggested by Cafarchia et al. (2004). For age, our data show that young animals are more susceptible to fungal infections (Table 2). Adult animals tend to be more resistant to infections than young animals in relation to their changes in the skin and 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 Fungi in Pets 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 secretions (quantity and nature of sebaceous lipids in the epidermis), hair replacement cycle, and development of an immune response to keratinophylic moulds (Bond 2010; Cafarchia et al. 2004; Rotstein et al. 1999; Khosravi and Mahmoudi 2003). Although the risk of dermatophyte infection is greater for puppies, kittens and aged or debilitated animals, the infection is not strictly age or health status-related, and so the risk continues throughout life. Consideration should be given to provide all dogs and cats with appropriate dermatophyte control throughout their lives (ESCCAP Guideline 2011). From our study autumn was the period with the highest risk for fungal infection (Table 2), according to Mancianti et al. (2002) and Iorio et al. (2007). The prevalence of non-dermatophyte and dermatophyte filamentous fungi varies according to the climate, temperature, relative humidity and rainfall of different geographical regions or natural reservoir (Brilhante et al. 2003; Cabanes et al. 1997; Mancianti et al. 2002; Iorio et al. 2007). Moreover, the life style such as the tendency to live in the outdoor environment in contact with soil, in groups, in isolation or in proximity to humans; the hygiene; the differences in non-specific cutaneous defenses are the general conditions related to the higher prevalence of fungal infections (de Hoog et al. 2000; Brilhante et al. 2003; Cafarchia et al. 2006). In our study in both cats and dogs there was difference in fungal isolation related to breed since fungi were more frequent in non pure-breed cats and in pure-breed dogs ( p < 0.05; Table 2). Actually, breed is not proved to be a predisposing factor for infection (Cafarchia et al. 2006; Mancianti et al. 2002). “The disease is not clear, unless we seek it”: contact with animals or contaminated environments represents the major risk of infection for humans and people in contact with infected animals should be advised of the risk. In fact, nowadays, lack of connection between the monitoring of diseases in animals and humans is still great. The best way to bypass infection is to prevent the contact: this prophylactic strategy is very simple but not always feasible because infected animals do not show obvious clinical signs. When lesions are evident, the dermatophyte clinical lesion appearance is often indistinguishable from that caused by other fungi, suggesting the need for greater and accurate control, monitoring and identification of these last species to avoid the overestimated clinical diagnosis of dermatophytoses and to address the appropriate therapy. The role of animals as source of zoonoses in dermatophyte is widely accepted; on the contrary further investigations to evaluate the considerable zoonotic and zoopathogenic potential of other fungi, routinely considered to be contaminants or harmless colonizers, are necessary. 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