Dermatophytoses of animals in the Russian regions: etiological structure and sensitivity of pathogens to antifungal drugs

Systematic monitoring of the etiological structure of animal dermatomycoses allows tracking their incidence, prevalence, changes in the composition of pathogenic species, and identification of previously unidentified etiological agents. In the Russian Federation, knowledge about the incidence of dermatophytoses in agricultural and domestic animals and on the sensitivity of their causative agents to antifungal drugs is scant. In the presented study, we assessed the incidence of dermatophytoses in animals, identified the main etiological agents, and evaluated their sensitivity to the antifungal drugs approved for use in Russia. The purpose of the work is to identify the prevalence of the main etiological agents of dermatophytoses and determine their sensitivity to commonly used antifungal drugs. Of 851 samples of clinical materials collected in 27 Russian regions from farm and domestic animals, 311 isolates (36.54 %) were identified as dermatophytes of the genera Microsporum ( M. canis , M. gypseum , M. nanum ) and Trichophyton ( T. verrucosum , T. mentagrophytes , T. equinum ). This indicates high prevalence of microscopic fungi in the clinical materials. We assessed the sensitivity of 125 isolates to antifungal drugs terbinafine, ketoconazole, and enilconazole. Of M. canis isolates, 6.4 % were resistant to terbinafine, 5.6 % to ketoconazole and to enilconazole, of M. gypseum , 0.9 % were resistant to terbinafine, 4.9 % to ketoconazole, and 4.5 % to enilconazole. Of T. verrucosum isolates, 2.6 % were resistant to terbinafine, 0.9 % to ketoconazole, and 0 % to enilconazole, of T. mentagrophytes , 4.2 % were resistant to terbinafine, 3.2 % to ketoconazole and to enilconazole, of T. equinum , 0.7 % were resistant to terbinafine, 0.4 % to ketoconazole and 0.2 % to enilconazole. These data will serve to develop a methodology for systematic assessing the risks of the spread of resistant fungal pathogen species common to humans and animals.