Dermatofitoses no meio urbano e a coexistência do homem com cães e gatos

Abstract

Dermatophytosis are endemic diseases in Latin America that assault both man and other animals, among them, dogs and cats. In the last recent years, research has shown that there is a growing tendency of the urban society to share their habitat with pets. Before this fact, many professional in the human dermathology field allude the link of man with dogs and cats as one of the factors responsable for the incidence ofdermatophytosis in the urban area. Our research was conducted in the sense of verifying, in the urban area, the relation between the incidence of dermatophytosis on man and his link with dogs and cats. From 221 patients with lesions suspected of dermatophytosis, sent to the. laboratory ofmicology, were colected dermathologic samples and was applied a questionnaire about the possible contact with dogs and/or cats. In possession of the laboratory diagnosis, an active search was made for human and animal dermatophytosis cases on the residence of 28 dermatophytic patients and contactants of dogs and cats. The result initially show that 50% of the investigated patients have close association with dogs and/or cats. Five species of dermatophytes were identified in studied human infections. Inaccordance to the prevalence, they can be classified as: l)species of great frequency: Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton tonsurans', 2) species of intermediate frequency: Trichophyton mentagrophytes (var. granulosa and var. lanosa) and Microsporum canis; 3) species of sporadic occurance: Microsporum g)'pseum. Although dermatophytosis was diagnosed on most of the patients related to pets, an absolute predominance of anthropophilic species over zoophilic. Allied with this fact, no relation was determined between the dermatophytosis was not verified. On the over hand, such incidence was determined in all the contactant animais of patients carrying the Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. granulosa. The incidence of the majority of human cases by dermatophytes zoophilic was determinad in family focal points. Now the cases caused by dermatophytes anthropophilic, were the most prevalent in the dermatophytosis in urban eoidemic. Before the above data, it is admitted that the simple contact with dogs and cats explains the most part of localized (family) outbreaks of dermatophytosi caused by zoophilic species. However, it is considered in a general manner, the incidence of dermatophytosis in urban area can be conditioned to many factors, among with, the relation with dogs and cats has little epidemiologyc and sanitary importance.