Abstract
BackgroundShelters and similar facilities with a high concentration and fluctuation of animals often have problems with various infections, which are usually difficult to solve in such environments and are very expensive to treat. This study investigated the eradication of Microsporum canis, the widespread cause of zoonotic dermatophytosis in shelters, even in immunosuppressed feline leukaemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus positive cats.ResultsOur study showed the increased effectiveness of an alternative topical therapy for affected animals using the mycoparasitic fungus Pythium oligandrum, which is gentler and cheaper than the standard systemic treatment with itraconazole, and which can also be easily used as a preventative treatment. A decrease in the number of M. canis colonies was observed in cats treated with a preparation containing P. oligandrum 2 weeks after the start of therapy (2 cats with P-1 score, 2 cats with P-2 score, 5 cats with P-3 score) compared with the beginning of the study (9 cats with P-3 score = massive infection). The alternative topical therapy with a preparation containing P. oligandrum was significantly more effective compared with the commonly used systemic treatment using itraconazole 5 mg/kg in a 6-week pulse. After 16 weeks of application of the alternative topical therapy, the clinical signs of dermatophytosis were eliminated throughout the whole shelter.ConclusionThe complete elimination of the clinical signs of dermatophytosis in all cats indicates that this therapy will be useful for the management and prevention of zoonotic dermatophytosis in animal shelters.
Highlights
Shelters and similar facilities with a high concentration and fluctuation of animals often have problems with various infections, which are usually difficult to solve in such environments and are very expensive to treat
Cats placed in a modern quarantine area with fully disinfectable cages were dewormed, vaccinated, neutered, and tested for retroviral infections (FIV and feline leukemia virus (FeLV))
Scoring system for lesions and Wood’s lamp examination was adjusted according to the literature [12, 36]. This screening showed a significantly greater detection of dermatophyte fungi in cats with retroviral infection: 100% of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) positive cats (8/8) and 50% of FeLV positive cats (14/28) were affected compared with other more or less healthy cats and cats accepted for quarantine, where the detection of dermatophyte positivity was 33% (25/75)
Summary
Shelters and similar facilities with a high concentration and fluctuation of animals often have problems with various infections, which are usually difficult to solve in such environments and are very expensive to treat. Secondary bacterial infections occur very often, especially in immunosuppressed animals [6] This dermatophyte can Načeradská et al BMC Veterinary Research (2021) 17:290 cause subclinical infections, where infected individuals, especially long-haired cats living in a contaminated environment, termed asymptomatic carriers, might not present with clinical symptoms [7]. Examples of cat-related infections include feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) These are serious, incurable retroviral diseases that can be transmitted between cats [13,14,15]. The treatment of dermatophytosis is recommended for all affected animals ( FIV and FeLV positive cats) to shorten the disease course and reduce the risk of spreading the infection [12]
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