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DERMATOMYCOSIS OF ANIMALS
Sh.O. Tokeyev, M.
Umitzhanov, B.R. Bizanov
Kazakh
Scientific Research Veterinary Institute (NIVI) under JSC KazAgroInnovation
Dermatomycosis (trichophytosis) is wide-spread infectious
diseases among agricultural ,
carnivorous and domestic animals.
Dermatomycosis is diseases that affect skin integuments of animals and human
beings. The diseases is caused by a
group of imperfect fungi belonging to Trichophyton
and Microsporum genera.
In Kazakhstan, the originators of
trichophytosis in animals are Trichophyton
and Microsporum fungi. The main
agents are:
- for camels: Trichophyton sarkisovii;
- for cattle: Tr.verrucosum;
- for sheep and goats: Tr. ver.var autotrophycum;
- for horses: Tr.equinum (Microsporum
equinum);
- for cats, dogs and furred animals:
Microsporum canis and Tr. mentagrophytes (Microsporum gypseum).
While developing and parasitizing in an animal’s organism,
pathogenic fungi cause severe chronic diseases known as mycotic infections
(epizootic lymphangitis, actinomycosis, dermatomycosis etc).
Among fungal zoonoses caused by various fungi species, the
most wide spread ones are dermatophytosis (dermatomycosis) of animals and human
beings. Dermatophytosis diseases cause a great economic damage to domestic
livestock breeding and represent a medical-and-social problem in many countries
of the World since diseased animals (cats, dogs, cattle, small cattle, horses,
camels and furred animals etc) are often serve as sources of infecting human
beings [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
Thanks to studies of domestic and foreign scientists, by the early
1970-s, there came a clear-cut understanding of the etiologic pathogenesis of
the whole group of mycotic diseases caused by fungi, whereby these fungi showed
typical parasitic features. These fungi invaded into live tissues of organisms
then developed in these tissues and caused nonreversible changes in the said
organisms. This group of such diseases is called mycoses (mycotic infections).
Lately, the diseases of animals caused by pathogenic fungi have drawn attention
of a wide range of specialists in many countries. This attention is due to the
damage that is caused by mycoses to the domestic livestock breeding. Mycoses are diseases when one can see the
active parasitism of a causative agent, which is a fungal pathogens. As a rule,
mycoses are contagious and some of them are dangerous to a human being.
Originators of mycoses can cause a pathologic process in animals, whereby such
a process can localize mostly in skin, hair-covering (pelage), respiratory
apparatus, digestive tracts, urgently tracts, and even in a brain tissue. The
majority of mycoses (mycosis infections) are of a chronic type (bald ringworm,
epizootic lymphangitis and actinomycosis).
A number of mycoses cause immunobiological alterations of an organism,
therefore for diagnostics purposes, sensitization tests and serum tests can be
performed. Some originators give off a primary luminescence, e.g. originators
of microspore. Among mycoses of
animals, the most widespread are skin diseases, i.e. dermatophytosis diseases.
In accordance with the data of the
foreign specialists, this infection is identified in the majority of the
European countries, in the South and North America, Africa, Asia and in the CIS
(Former Soviet Union) countries.
Fungi-caused skin diseases are still a source of the
infecting of new-born animals of various species. Contacts of human beings with
such animals represent a permanent risk of infecting human beings with these
zoogenous infections. Originators of dermatomycosis diseases are
microspores fungi (micromycete)
belonging to Trichophyton and Microspore families.
This group of pathogenic micromycete has been evolutionarily
adapted to parasitism on an animal’s skin regardless of the anatomic structure
of involucres (fur, hair, horn tissue). Parasitism of dermatomycosis
originators leads to disturbance of physiological properties of skin, skin
damage and resultant loss of animal hair/fur. The clinical implications are:
- a low rate of body-weight increase
in a young stock,
- degradation/deterioration of the
leather quality,
- loss of salable value of the fur,
- loss of a milk productivity among
lactating cows.
Presently, dermatomycosis diseases are registered in great
cattle and small cattle farms, in camel husbandry farms and in horse-breeding
farms as well as in specialized enterprises engaged in breeding valuable fur
animals.
According the data from various information sources, the
specialists performed mycological examination of the pathologic material of
infected animals and animals suspected of being infected. At that, various
species of animals were involved. The examination covered various species of
animals: from cattle, camels to wild animals and laboratory animals as well as
cats and dogs. Out of the pathologic material, trichophytosis and microspore
originators were identified and diagnosed.
Dermatomycosis diseases can affect
any animal regardless of housing conditions for animals, a quality of animal
feed and condition factors. It was found that skin tissue of well-fed animals
does not lower a disease rate and a quantity of skin disorders, but on the
contrary, the skin tissue of well-fed animals increases a disease rate and a
quantity of skin disorders. This fact confirms a selectiveness of pathogenic
fungi regarding valuable sources for further development and nutrition of
animal dermatomycosis originators.
In fighting against contagious
diseases, the most reliable means is application of specific preventive
measures in the early ages of animals, i.e. vaccines featuring highly-efficient
animal protecting properties. It is necessary to note that animal
dermatomycosis originators are represented with pathogenic fungi that are quite
resistant to environment conditions, physical and thermal exposures. When
coming off diseased animals, skin sloughs, skin crusts and hair contain
infection originators and keep their survivability and virulence for years. The
specialists found a great vulnerability of young animals to infections. Young
animals are under permanent threat of being infected. The cattle that naturally got over trichophytosis develops a
strong life-long immunity against this disease Some authors believe that after
experimental introduction of dermatomycosis in animals, these animals, after
they get over the disease, have a strong life-long immunity against
trichophytosis caused by various infectious originators. There is an opinion
that during trichophytosis, the tissue immunity is formed, while the humeral
immunity is present and seen only at an initial stage of the disease. The
experiments with originators of trichophytosis in cattle, horses, camels and
furred animals showed that intramuscular injections of trichophytons causes a
response from immune-competent systems of the animals. In accordance with the
results of their studies, some authors proved that an extent of proliferation
of plasmocytes is greater/higher and longer (in time) where immunogenic
cultures contain live fungi cells i.e. micro conidia. Allures (micro conidia)
serve for conservation of species and are resistant to physical and chemical
factors of a respective environment. Besides, allures (micro conidia) are able
to form a strong immunity against fungal infections in cattle, horses and
furred animals.
This property of allure was registered in 1983 in the
National Register of Scientific Discoveries of former the USSR, Document No.
278, titled “Capability of Dermatophyte (allure) Cells to Form a Life-Long
Immunity (at a saprophytic growth stage) in Mammals as against Parasitic
Development of Dermatomycosis Originators”.
In order to solve a problem of reliable food-stuff supplies
for the Republic of Kazakhstan, to fully meet a market demand for food-stuff
and to make the food-stuff available in terms of pricing, to all layers of the
society, it is highly important to produce high-quality and competitive
food-stuff products on the basis of modern resource-conscious production
technologies.
A significant
rise in production of agricultural products may be achieved within relatively
short time periods by traditional the Republic of Kazakhstan domestic livestock
breeding industries, such as horse breeding, camel breeding, cattle breeding and
sheep breeding.
To the population, the valuable products are horse meat,
beef, camel meat and mutton as well as kumis (horse milk) and shubat (national
special preparing camel milk) which have unique medical properties.
Unlike
other animal breeding types, drove breeding of horses is highly profitable. The
trend is that every year, the population of horses in the Republic of
Kazakhstan is on the increase. Presently, according to the data from the
Statistical Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the population of horses came
to 1 163 500 (as of 2005). The population of camels came to 147 000,
the population of cattle came to more than 6 melon, the population of sheep
came to 26 melon. A normal development of these industries is impeded by such a
contagious disease as trichophytosis.
In spite of similarities in clinical presentations,
dermatomycosis diseases are caused by dermathophytes which can be divided into
the three following groups:
- trichophytons
- microspore
- Acheron (fauves)
Respectively, three main groups of dermatomycosis diseases
are distinguishable in animals:
- trichophytosis
- microspore
- fauves caused by achorions
Similarity of clinical symptoms in dermatomycosis diseases
led to a situation when, for a long time period, all this group of diseases was
called a single name, which was “bald ringworm”. However, thorough mycological
examinations showed that dermatomycosis disease originators significantly
differ in terms of their biologic properties. Therefore, it is quire reasonable
that, firstly in medical practice, then in veterinary practice, the term “bald
ringworm” was replaced with such terms as trichophytosis, microspore and
fauves.
For the purpose of dermatomycosis disease prevention and
therapy, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the scientists of Kazakh NIVI developed
live and inactivated five violent vaccines against dermatomycosis diseases of
farm livestock. To fight microspore of carnivorous animals, the scientists
developed a bivalent inactivated vaccine.
Presently, for producing biological medicinal products
against trichophytosis and microspore, the following fungi strains are used:
- Tr.mentagrophytes F-0316
- Tr. sarkisovii F-0319
- Tr.verrucosum F-0320
- Tr. verrucosum varriantis autotrophycum
F-0321
- Tr.equinum F-0322 and
- Microspore canis F-0318
The said fungi strains are deposited
in the laboratory for studying genetic material of microorganisms, this
laboratory belonging to Kazakh NIVI
(KazNIVI) under JSC KazAgroInnovation). Kazakh NIVI lodged an application for
an invention and acknowledgements of receipt were obtained.
The fungus strain was identified on the basis of main morphological,
cultural and biological properties in accordance with the Qualifier of Fungi
Pathogenic, Toxic and Hazardous to Human Beings.
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