TrichophytonMentagrophytes
Trichophytonmentagrophytesisaspeciesoffungusthatisacommunicablepathogen;itaffectsboth
animalsandhumansalike.T.mentagrohphytesarefoundinavarietyofenvironments,andinfections
cantakeseveralforms.
Mycology
Trichophytonisknownasadermatophyte;partofagroupofthreegeneraoffungithatcauseskin
diseaseinpeopleandanimals.InmanypartsoftheworldTrichophytonmentagrophytesisisolatedmost
frequently.T.mentagrophytesistypicallyfoundinmoist,carbon-richenvironments.Itischaracterized
byflatsuede-likecolonieswithawhitetocreamcoloranddistinctiveodor.Thecolorontheunderside
ofthecoloniesisusuallyayellowtoreddishbrowncolor.Thegranularcolonyformtypicallyhasa
powderyappearanceduetothelargeamountofmicroconidia(spores)formed.Themacroconidiaare
smooth,cigarshapedandthinwalledwith4-5cellsseparatedbyparallelcross-walls.Incomparisonto
otherfungiT.mentagrophytesgrowsfairlyrapidly.
ClinicalSigns
Inanimals,T.mentagrophytesinfectioncanmanifestasringworm.Ringwormcancauseascaly,
crustedrashthatmayappearasround,redpatchesontheskin.Othersymptomsandsignsofringworm
include:
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Patchesofhairloss
Scalingonthescalp
Itching
Blister-likelesions
EpidemiologyofTransmission
Animals,likepeople,getinfectedthroughtouchinganinfectedanimal'sskinorhairorbytouching
thingsthatareinfectedwithT.mentagrophytes,likeblankets,towelsascombs,brushes,furniture,
linensetc.Thegreatestriskfactorforacquiringinfectioniscontactwithdamagedcellsonskin,hairand
nails.
TreatmentandControl
TreatmentofringwormcausedbyT.mentagrophytesdependsontheseverityoftheinfection.A
veterinarianmayprescribeamedicatedshampoo,ointmentoradiptokillthefungus.Insomecases,
oralmedicationsarenecessarytocureringworm.Inseverecases,itmaybenecessarytouseatopical
andoraltreatment,inadditiontoclippingawaythefur.Oncetreatmentbegins,lesionsshouldbeginto
healinaboutonetothreeweeks
Inorderpreventthespreadofinfectiontootheranimalsandhumans,anEPAorHealthCanada
approveddisinfectantwithafungicidalclaimwillbeeffectiveatinactivatingfungalspores.Direct
contactwithinfectedanimalsandrelatedfomitesshouldbeminimized.Ifcontactwithinfectedareasof
skinorinfectedanimalsisunavoidable,washhandsimmediatelyafterexposure.Wash/changebedding
asfrequentlyaspossible-asshedskinmayalsospreadinfection.Assoonasinfectionissuspectedseek
medicalattention.
References
Ringworm,MedicineNet.com(2015).http://www.medicinenet.com/ringworm/article.htm
RingwormInfectionsinDogs,WebMD.http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/ringworm-infection-dogs
PreventionofFungalInfection.http://www.slideshare.net/icsp/prevention-of-fungal-infections
TheDermatophytes.ClinicalMicrobiologyReviews,p.240-259,vol.8,No.2Apr.1995.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC172857/pdf/080240.pdf
CDC-FungalDiseases.http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/
Epidermophytonfloccosum,Microsporumspp.,Trichophytonspp.http://www.phacaspc.gc.ca/labbio/res/psds-ftss/epidermophyton-eng.php
DermatophytosisInfection,CDC(2014).http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/ringworm.html
Trichophytonspp.http://www.doctorfungus.org/thefungi/trichophyton.php
Trichophyton.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichophyton