Abstract
Fungal skin infections and iatrogenic disease of companion animals continue to be an ongoing issue for veterinarians, where misdiagnosis or inapt medical treatment result in secondary conditions within animals. The widespread use of antifungals in both modern medicine and agriculture has resulted in concomitant resistance in species, where zoonotic transfer poses a risk to public health. Studies described herein assess the resistance of pathogenic species isolated from companion animals to a battery of conventional antimicrobial agents. Levels of resistance were detected using recognised in vitro methods, where additional novel therapeutic and biocide options were also extensively investigated. Results show high levels of resistance to the three main families of antifungal agents, namely caspofungin, Amp B and fluconazole. Resistance in Candida, Cryptococcal, Aspergillus and Trichophyton species is described herein, highlighting the need for defined species-specific antifungal breakpoints, and for Malassezia and Wickerhamomyces anomalus species which also have zoonotic potential. Novel compound phendione showed promising antimicrobial activity, with MICs determined for both fungal and bacterial species. The biocidal options investigated also showed potential to act as intermediate-level disinfectants, where peracetic acid proved most effective against fungal spore formers.
Highlights
Published: 11 April 2021Animal mycoses is a common reoccurring issue globally, with zoonosis a risk in companion animals, where humans are continually exposed to infectious propagules [1].Dermal infections are typically caused by dermatophytes requiring keratin for growth such as Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton species
This study aims to investigate the antifungal resistance of various fungal species isolated from chronic cases of infection in canine companion animals
Further testing demonstrated that this species was sensitive to the third-generation cephalosporins, where cefpodoxime provided a zone of mm and ceftriaxone and cefotaxime provided a respective zone of mm
Summary
Published: 11 April 2021Animal mycoses is a common reoccurring issue globally, with zoonosis a risk in companion animals, where humans are continually exposed to infectious propagules [1].Dermal infections are typically caused by dermatophytes requiring keratin for growth such as Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton species. Superficial zoophilic skin infections (dermatomycosis) are caused by non-dermatophyte fungal species such as Malassezia, Aspergillus and Candida (benign colonisers of mucosal surfaces). Dermal tissue may become infected following colonisation of the cutaneous tissue and dermal follicles with opportunistic and pathogenic fungi. Systemic fungal diseases cause significant and often severe morbidity and fatality in companion animals. The mortality rate following infection with invasive fungal infections remains high, when caused by rare yeast pathogens [3]. Immunosuppression and iatrogenic disease are issues in both human and animal patients, with increasing prevalence globally. This has promoted the emergence of opportunistic fungal infections which previously occurred only rarely [4] and is a serious public health risk to the immunocompromised population
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