Epizootic and epidemic dermatophytose outbreaks caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes from rabbits in Portugal, 2015.
We report an outbreak of dermatophytoses in rabbits, which was the origin of a dermatophytose epidemic in an agricultural school in central Portugal, affecting 15 people. Both the phenotypic characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of the dermatophytes isolated from the rabbits and patients were identical, suggesting that a single strain was responsible for both the epizootic and epidemic dermatophytoses and confirming that these two outbreaks were linked. The ITS sequences were also 100% identical to the ITS sequence of five strains isolated from rabbits in Greece and Italy, but different from that of Trichophyton mentagrophytes commonly isolated from dogs and cats. These results suggest that a particular T. mentagrophytes genotype could be prevalent in rabbits in southern Europe.
Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.|CIBIO/UP, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos/Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.|Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.
João R
JR
Mesquita
Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.|Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
Carmen
C
Vasconcelos-Nóbrega
Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.|Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
Jorge
J
Oliveira
Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.|Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
Catarina
C
Coelho
Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.|Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
Helena
H
Vala
Department of Dermatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Marina
M
Fratti
Department of Dermatology, Medical School, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Michael
M
Arabatzis
Mycology Research Laboratory, Microbiology Department, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece.
Aristea
A
Velegraki
Department of Dermatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Monod
M
Michel
D000818:Animals; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D058872:Epidemics; D005060:Europe; D005838:Genotype; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011174:Portugal; D011817:Rabbits / Q000382:microbiology*; D014005:Tinea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
Trichophyton mentagrophytes; dermatophytoses; epidemiology; outbreak