Fungal flora of the hair coat of Persian squirrel ( Sciurus anomalus) with and without skin lesion in Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Summary Objective To investigate the prevalence of saprophytic fungi and dermatophyte in the hair coat of squirrels with and without skin lesions. Materials and methods Sixty pet Persian squirrels suspected to cutaneous or other disorders were examined in Small Animal Teaching Hospital of the University of Tehran. The samples were collected from all the squirrels studied using sterile toothbrush from the entire body. Skin lesions were scraped by sterile scalpel as well. The mycological analyses were performed by direct microscopy and culture media. Results Of the 60 samples, eight (13.3%) resulted in positive cultures for dermatophytes. The most frequently isolated dermatophytes, obtained from skin lesions, were Microsporum gypseum (3.3%), Microsporum canis (3.3%), Microsporum persicolor (3.3%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (3.3%). All samples showed the growth of saprophytes. The genera of saprophytes most commonly isolated were Mucor (38.3%), Penicillium (28.3%), Aspergillus (26.7%), Alternaria (23.3%) and Fusarium (20%). In addition, Malassezia, Rhodotorula and Candida species were the most important yeasts isolated in nine cases (15%). Conclusion Our study showed that squirrels are reservoirs of some pathogenic fungi, which present a healthy risk for humans in contact with them.