Antifungal susceptibility of dermatophytes from racehorses in Japan

Luliconazole (LCZ) is an imidazole antifungal medication that exhibits excellent activity against dermatophytes. As a topical cream and lotion (approved for human use), LCZ has demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity against human dermatophytoses.

This is the first study to investigate the in vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates from horse dermatophytoses to LCZ.

No animals were used in this study.

In the present study, the in vitro susceptibilities of clinical isolates of dermatophytes to LCZ, clotrimazole (CTZ), miconazole (MCZ) and terbinafine (TRF) were investigated using the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute M38-A2 test.

The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for all 16 clinical isolates of Trichophyton equinum, Microsporum equinum/canis and M. gypseum for LCZ were <0.03 mg/L. The MICs of all isolates were <0.03-0.5 mg/L for CTZ, 0.03-16 mg/L for MCZ and <0.03-1 mg/L for TRF.

LCZ demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity against clinical isolates from horse dermatophytoses. We consider that LCZ will become the primary antifungal agent for treating horse dermatophytosis.