Dermatomycoses in Animals in the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, Kenya and Brazil

Dermatomycoses are the most common of fungal infections in livestock, pet animals, and wild animals. The causative agents, dermatophytes, belong to three genera, namely, Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton. The dermatophytes known to have a sexual stage are placed in the family Arthrodermataceae in the Phylum Ascomycota of the Kingdom Fungi. Ecologically dermatophytes are classified as anthropophilic, zoophilic, and geophilic. Dermatophytic infections are the most common of fungal infections in animals. Human infections are frequently caused by some zoophilic dermatophytes but occasionally by geophilic dermatophytes. Predisposing factors for animal infections include contact with other infected animals and spores of the dermatophytes which can survive more than a year under humid and mild temperature conditions. This study presents an update on the occurrence of dermatomycoses caused by different species of dermatophytes in animals in countries in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in Kenya and Brazil. Therapy and prevention of infections are also discussed briefly.