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Superficial skin infection with Scopulariopsis brevicaulis in two goats. A case

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Article · February 2009

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Bull Vet Inst Pulawy 53, 361-363, 2009

SUPERFICIAL SKIN INFECTION

WITH SCOPULARIOPSIS BREVICAULIS IN TWO GOATS.
A CASE REPORT
DILEK OZTURK, RAMAZAN ADANIR1, AND HULYA TURUTOGLU

Department of Microbiology, 1Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,

University of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, 15100 Burdur, Turkey
sedilek@yahoo.com

Received for publication January 09, 2009

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe a case of hair lost and skin changes due to Scopulariopsis brevicaulis infection a dead
goat and a sick kid, and to determine effective treatments. At the macroscopic examination, both goat hair loss and skin lesions of
varying size were seen along the body of the animals. Microscopically, arthrospor was seen in the hair and skin samples. In
parasitological examination, no parasites were observed in the skin and hair. Pure cultures of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis were
isolated from skin and hair samples in Sabouraud dextrose agar with penicillin and streptomycin. The infection in the kid was
successfully treated by itraconazole (100 mg/kg, daily, for 6 weeks) and D-biotin (twice 0.1 mg/kg i.m., at 1-week interval).

Key words: goat, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, treatment.

Scopulariopsis is a large anamorphic genus Description of the case

commonly found in a wide range of habitats including
mammal hair, hooves, and horns; animal products such
as meat and dairy products; and in the soil (1, 3, 15).
The genus contains unique, hyaline and dematiaceous
species and telemorphs, which are classified in the genus
Microascus (10). Some species of the ascomycete genus
Microascus, which comprises teleomorphs (sexual
states) of Scopulariopsis, have been implicated as
pathogens of humans and animals (13). Scopulariopsis
species are common soil and plant saprotrophs and
opportunistic pathogens that cause ringworm with
dermatophytosis in humans and animals (2, 4, 5, 8, 13,
18, 20). Additionally, Scopulariopsis species are cause
of onychomycosis and less frequently deep-tissue
infections in humans (12, 13, 16). Scopulariopsis
brevicaulis is the most common saprotroph species
encountered and frequently in dogs, cats, and large farm
animals, particularly horses (5-7, 19, 20). However, it
can cause infection in animals (17). It is not easy to
determine whether this essentially saprophytic fungus is
the real cause of infection, a secondary coloniser or a
simple contaminant. The role of Scopulariopsis species
is more significant in immunosuppressed and
immunocompromised humans than healthy humans (3,
14, 16, 18, 19).
The aim of this study was to describe a case of
hair lost and skin lesions due to Scopulariopsis
brevicaulis infection in a goat and kid, and to determine
effective treatments.
A month-old live kid with skin and hair
desquamations was presented. At the same time, skin
scrapings and hair samples from a dead one-year-old
goat with the same lesions (reported by the farm
veterinarian) were also brought to our laboratory. There
was no observed morbidity and mortality in other goats.
There were found to be 541 animals - 134 female goats
and 5 male goats, 24 one-year-old kids, 198 seven-
month-old female kids and 142 male kids, and 38 male
kids in an intensive incubator
The goats and kids were kept in different
compartments. The veterinarian reported that the sick
kid was born rather small and it tried to make contact
with the dead mother. He reported that the dead goat and
the live kid started quickly to lose their hair. The
infection in the goat was monitored while being treated
by parasitic drugs for 15 d. However, the treatment was
unsuccessful. There were no observed systemic signs of
illness. The goat died after 45 d.
The hairs of the goats were completely lost
along their bodies and became matted and thick after a
short time (Fig. 1). The samples of skin scrapings and
hair from the affected areas were taken into sterile Petri
dishes. For direct microscopic examination, the samples
were placed in 2-3 drops of 10% KOH on a glass
microscope slides and examined after 20-30 min at 25°C
(room) temperature (10). Microscopically, arthrospores
were observed in the samples but no parasites were
found.
362
Fig. 1. Hair loss and matted skin of the goat before
death.
Fig. 2. Morphology of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis
colony, which is initially white, with powdery surface,
and at the later stages of culture became buff-coloured.
Fig. 3. Chains of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis - brunched
chains, strong rough-walled, lemon-shaped conidia,
cotton-blue lactophenol staining.
The samples were cultivated in a Sabouraud
dextrose agar with penicillin and streptomycin at room
temperature (25ºC) and at 37ºC for 10 d and then the
cultures were examined microscopically following
staining with lactophenol cotton blue. Good growth was
noted at room temperature, but not at 37ºC. S.
brevicaulis was identified on the basis of colony
morphology and microscopical examination. The
colonies initially have a white, powdery rough, and
granular surface, and later became buff-coloured (Fig.
2). Upon microscopic examination, the S. brevicaulis
were seen in chains, with rough walled, lemon-shaped
conidia (Fig. 3).
The infection of the live kid was treated by the
use of itraconazole (Sporanox®, capsules, Toprak) (100
mg/kg, daily, for 6 weeks) and D-biotin (Gabiotan®,
Bayer) (0.1 mg/kg, twice, at one-week interval). After
this treatment, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis infection
subsided and the hairs of the kid grew again.
Discussion
In this study, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis was
isolated from the skin samples of a dead goat and a sick
kid. Therefore, it was thought that S. brevicaulis may be
cause of infection in goats. However, it is not easy to
determine whether S. brevicaulis is the real cause of
infection, a secondary coloniser or a simple
contaminant, because it is the most common saprotroph
species encountered in dogs, cats, and large farm
animals, particularly horses (5, 7, 19, 20). Holko et al.
(11) reported that S. brevicaulis together with
Cryptosporidium andersoni was isolated from abomasal
lesions in cattle, but a relationship between the fungus
and the lesions could not be found. Ogawa et al. (17)
reported that S. brevicaulis can cause a generalised
hyperkeratosis in a Japanese Black Calf.
In this study, parasites were not found in the
skin or hair samples of the goats examined. It is
considered that skin desquamation and hair loss may
have been related to S. brevicaulis, as it was purely
isolated from skin and hair lesions in the goat and kid.
The anti-parasitic treatment applied in the goat before its
death was unsuccessful. The infection of the goat was
not investigated before; therefore, it was not certainly
determined whether S. brevicaulis was the cause of the
death of the goat.
S. brevicaulis is reported to be generally
resistant to antifungal agents (3, 9). Therefore,
combinations of different anti-mycotics are usually used
in the treatment of such infections (9). In this study, we
did not perform any antifungal susceptibility tests but
the therapy of the S. brevicaulis infection succeeded by
using itraconazole and D-biotin.
In conclusion, this case report showed that S.
brevicaulis can cause superficial skin infections with
skin and hair loss in goats and can be lethal in goats if
infections remain untreated.
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