AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE ZOOPHILIC DERMATOPHYTOSES IN IRAN

Dematophytosis in domestic animals constitutes a constant source of infection for persons in contact with them. To have an epidemiological picture of zoophilic dermatophyte infections in Iran, a study has been carried out during a period of three years (1986-1989) in an attempt to find the causative dermatophytes which infect cats and cattle and also infected human subjects in contact with them. For this purpose, 9850 samples of hair and skin were collected from suspected cattle, 953 from suspected cats, and 2326 from infected human subjects. Clinical diagnosis was confirmed by direct microscopic examination and c!llture. The species isolated from all cattle were Trichophyton verrucosum from cats, Microsporum canis and man, M. callis, 1583(68.1 %) and T. verrucosum 743(31.9%). From the infected human cases, mostly Tinea capitis and Tinea co/paris were detected among the age groups of 1-9 and 20-29 years old, respectively. The incidence rate observed in winter and fall was higher than spring and summer.