doiSerbia

Presence and importance of saprophyte fungal organisms on dog skin

Stojanov Igor M. (Naučni institut za veterinarstvo, Novi Sad)
Jakšić Sandra M. (Naučni institut za veterinarstvo, Novi Sad)
Prodanov Jasna Z. (Naučni institut za veterinarstvo, Novi Sad)

Dogs are animals that are most often kept as pets in the cities. Their health problem may be the cause of infections of humans and animals. Skin changes and etiology factors present important segment of the diseases that disturb health of the pets. The objective of this work was mycology examination of scarifications and skin swabs from dogs with clinical symptoms. The aim was to find out which fungi species can be isolated from the changed parts of the skin, and whether is possible that, besides dermatophyte, saprophyte fungi from the environment may also be the cause of the changes, and to reveal their effect on the host. During a one year period, 67 swabs and scarifications from dogs were examined to detect the presence of fungi. The samples were streaked on Sabourdaud's dextrose agar and incubated for 10-21 days at 25°C. In microscopis examination according to their shape, and color, the colonies were identified as conidia, macroconidia and conidiaophora. From 59, of total 67 samples, the following saprophyte fungi were isolated: Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Mucor sp. and Fusarium sp. Occurrence of these fungi means that a considerable increase of this microbiological flora may be expected in homes of the owners. This may be the cause of systemic mycosis and allergies in animals and humans, as well as a possibility of contaminated food and incidence of mycotoxicosis.

Keywords: fungi, dogs, mycosis, pets