Clinical Study of Dermatophytosis Caused by Microsporum canis

Jang, Seok Hwan; Yun, Sook Jung; Lee, Jee Bum; Kim, Seong Jin; Lee, Seung Chul; Won, Young Ho

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Microsporum (M.) canis is a zoophilic dermatophyte commonly acquired from cats or dogs, and it is the most common pathogen of tinea capitis in Korea. An increase in the incidence of M. canis infection has been observed after 1970s.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the changes in epidemiological features and clinical findings on M. canis infection.
METHODS
We retrospectively carried out an analysis of 133 patients with M. canis infection among clinically suspected dermatophytosis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010.
RESULTS
The isolation rate of M. canis was 5.9% of all isolated dermatophytes. The annual number of patients infected by M. canis has fluctuated between 8 and 22 and was highest in 2007. The infections were most prevalent in patients under the age of 10 years (51.1%). The ratio of male to female patients was 0.8:1 in total, but 1.1:1 in children under the age of 10 years, and 0.4:1 in adults. Seasonally, 58.6% (78 cases) occurred in winter and spring, which was more prevalent than in other seasons. The highest clinical type among dermatophytosis was tinea capitis (56.4%), and followed by tinea faciale (15.8%), and tinea corporis (15.0%). The incidence of patients with the noninflammatory lesions (68.3%) in tinea capitis was higher than inflammatory lesions (31.7%) in clinical characteristics.
CONCLUSION
We analyzed the patients with dermatophytosis caused by M. canis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010, and their prevalence, seasonal changes, and clinical charateristics were demonstrated and compared with previous studies.