Incidence of dermatophytes isolated from dogs and cats in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan

Dermatophytes are filamentous fungi, which are able to use keratin as a source of carbon. Some of these organisms develop in skin and hair and cause cutaneous lesions. This zoonotic disease is called dermatophytosis or ringworm. The study was aimed to assess the frequency of dermatophyte infection of dog’s and cat’s skin around the city of Baku. During a period of 1 year (2014–2015), 116 dogs and 77 cats were included in this study. The mycological analyses were conducted by direct microscopy and by fungal culture on chloramphenicol Sabouraud agar (CSA) at the Department of Microbiology, Azerbaijan Animal Rescue Center (AARC), Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. Of the 193 samples, 108 resulted in positive cultures for dermatophytes. Of the remaining 85 samples, no fungal growth was observed in 7 samples. One, two, and three genera of saprobe fungi were isolated in 32, 39, and 7 samples, respectively. Microsporum gypseum was isolated in 15 (14 %) and 38 samples (35.1 %) from cats and dogs, respectively. Microsporum canis was isolated in 18 (16.8 %) and 22 samples (20.3 %) from cats and dogs, respectively, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes in 6 (5.5 %) and 9 samples (8.3 %) from cats and dogs, respectively.