Public health and the urban gray squirrel: mycology

From 180 gray squirrels (Sciurus c. carolinesis), 942 isolates of fungi representing 19 genera were recovered upon culture of hair-skin scrapings and toenails. Of the isolates, 170 represented known human pathogens and 142, squirrel pathogens. A human infection of Trichophyton mentagrophytes was derived from handling the squirrels. Skin lesions of seven squirrels were attributable to T. mentagrophytes and Mucor sp.