Abstract

Keywords

Morphology Trichophyton erinacei

Figure 1. (A) The pet hedgehog, Atelerix albiventris, is characterized by four toes on its rear legs. (B) White cottony surface and yellowish-brown pigmented undersurface colony on Sabouraud's dextrose agar after incubation at 25℃ for 2 weeks and the reverse side of the agar plate (C) Numerous aggregated, pear-shaped, or elongated microconidia and several septated hyphae are seen (Lactophenol cotton blue, 400×).

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Trichophyton erinacei, a zoophilic strain of T. mentagrophytes, was first identified in New Zealand, then in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, and more recently in Japan and Korea^1,2. This organism is transmitted from hedgehogs and can cause highly inflammatory and pruritic eruptions, usually on the hands, and such a pathological state is known as tinea manus². However, infections at other sites have also been occasionally described; these include kerion, tinea corporis, tinea unguium, and tinea faciei¹.

The pet hedgehog species, Atelerix albiventris, is characterized by four toes on its rear legs (Figure 1A). Macroscopically, T. erinacei has a white cottony appearance on the surface with a yellowish-brown pigmented undersurface (Figure 1B). Unlike typical T. mentagrophytes characteristics such as spiral hyphae and grape-shaped microconidia, T. erinacei has characteristic microconidia that are elongated, pear-shaped, and attached along the side of the hyphae (Figure 1C).

Macroconidia, when present, were slightly irregular in shape and size and have 2~6 septa. Reportedly, the combination of a white cottony surface and a yellow undersurface on Sabouraud's dextrose agar and pear-shaped microconidia is usually a distinctive characteristic of this species^2,3. Microscopic examination and macroscopic morphology are crucial for identifying the causative organism; however, physicians can identify species more precisely using molecular biological analyses.

References

1. Perrier P, Monod M. Tinea manuum caused by Tricho- phyton erinacei: first report in Switzerland. Int J Dermatol 2015;54:959-960
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2. Rhee DY, Kim MS, Chang SE, Lee MW, Choi JH, Moon KC, et al. A case of tinea manuum caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. erinacei: the first isolation in Korea. Mycoses 2009;52:287-290
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3. Abarca ML, Castella G, Martorell J, Cabanes FJ. Trichophyton erinacei in pet hedgehogs in Spain: occurrence and revision of its taxonomic status. Med Mycol 2017;55:164-172
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JMI 2019 March;24(1):35-36(2). 10.17966/JMI.2019.24.1.35 Epub 2019 March 28
Copyright © 2019 by Journal of Mycology and Infection

Language

English

Author

Jun Suk Hong
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Dong Won Lee
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Moo Kyu Suh
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Gyoung Yim Ha
Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Corresponding

Moo Kyu Suh, Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, 87 Dongdae-ro, Gyeongju, Kyungbuk, 38067, Korea.; Phone: +82-10-3805-9223, Fax: +82-54-770-8378, e-mail: smg@dongguk.ac.kr;

Conflict of Interest

In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publication history

Received 2018 June 19; Revised 2018 June 27; Accepted 2018 November 30.

Acknowledgements

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Jun Suk Hong

Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Dong Won Lee

Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Moo Kyu Suh

Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Gyoung Yim Ha

Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Korea

Since epub date 2019 March 28