Zoonotic dermatophytoses in small mammal pet owners in Greater Poland

The dermatophytes in small mammals include Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, Trichophyton erinacei, Nannizzia persicolor, and some others. The infections may spread by direct animal-to-human contact and indirectly through infected elements of the animal's environment. The study was conducted based on the analysis of mycological test results and medical documentation of 66 patients from Greater Poland with diagnosed dermatophytoses. The data were collected from January 2017 to June 2024 in the Medical Mycology Laboratory of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences. The study analyzed approximately 25,000 mycological test results from over 8500 patients with skin infections diagnosed over a 7.5-year period in a large part of western Poland. The assessment of the skin lesions revealed that T. mentagrophytes complex infection was present in all regions of the head, neck, trunk and limbs, except for the back and feet. M. canis mycosis was mainly present on the scalp, stomach and chest. Single infections with T. erinacei were confirmed in different parts of the body, and N. persicolor was detected on the back of one patient. In older children, a statistically significant correlation was found with the occurrence of dermatophyte infection (p = 0.0125). Dermatophytosis in small mammal pets may be the cause of fungal skin infections in humans. Superficial zoonotic mycoses are particularly common in young children and affect the scalp and subsequently the limbs and trunk. The dominant dermatophytosis in small mammal pet owners is T. mentagrophytes complex infection.