Trichophyton erinacei: an emergent pathogen of pediatric dermatophytosis.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytoses in children are common pathologies worldwide caused mainly by Trichophyton rubrum. However, due to the globalization and the atypical pets that people nowadays own, some zoonotic species are also involved in these lesions. CASE REPORT: We present two cases of tinea faciei caused by the zoonotic mould Trichophyton erinacei in two children that owned a guinea pig and a hedgehog, respectively. Mycological diagnosis was performed inoculating skin scales on Sabouraud-glucose agar plates supplemented with chloramphenicol, with and without gentamicin, and on Sabouraud-glucose agar tubes, with and without cycloheximide. Microscopical examination in both cases and ITS region sequencing to confirm the identification (performed in one of them) were compatible with T. erinacei. Multiple treatments like corticosteroids and antibiotics were prescribed prior to the accurate diagnosis. Finally, both patients received topical and oral terbinafine, respectively, the lesions being resolved entirely. CONCLUSIONS: Zoonotic fungi must be considered in the diagnosis of skin lesions. An accurate medical record, with a guided anamnesis about possible risk factors and an ongoing and open dialogue between health professionals, are essential to improve both the management of these exotic and zoophilic dermatophytoses.

Ochratoxin A producing species in the genus Penicillium.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) producing fungi are members of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. Nowadays, there are about 20 species accepted as OTA producers, which are distributed in three phylogenetically related but distinct groups of aspergilli of the subgenus Circumdati and only in two species of the subgenus Penicillium. At the moment, P. verrucosum and P. nordicum are the only OTA producing species accepted in the genus Penicillium. However, during the last century, OTA producers in this genus were classified as P. viridicatum for many years. At present, only some OTA producing species are known to be a potential source of OTA contamination of cereals and certain common foods and beverages such as bread, beer, coffee, dried fruits, grape juice and wine among others. Penicillium verrucosum is the major producer of OTA in cereals such as wheat and barley in temperate and cold climates. Penicillium verrucosum and P. nordicum can be recovered from some dry-cured meat products and some cheeses.

Early discrimination of fungal species responsible of ochratoxin A contamination of wine and other grape products using an electronic nose.

An electronic nose (e-nose) system using an array of metal oxide sensors (Fox 3000, Alpha MOS) was used to detect and discriminate two ochratoxigenic fungal species, Aspergillus carbonarius (Bain.) Thom and A. niger Van Tieghem, that are responsible for the contamination of wine and other wine grape products, using their volatile production patterns. Two well-known ochratoxigenic strains were used in this study: A. carbonarius A941 and A. niger A75. These strains were grown on three culture media, Czapek Dox modified (CDm) agar, yeast extract sucrose (YES) agar and white grape juice (WGJ) agar, and the volatile organic compounds produced in the headspace by these species were evaluated over periods of 48-120 h. The e-nose system was able to differentiate between the two species within 48 h of growth on YES and WGJ agar using principal component analysis (PCA), which accounted for 99.9% and 97.2% of the data respectively, in principal components 1 and 2, based on the qualitative volatile profiles. This differentiation was confirmed by cluster analysis of data. However, it was not possible to separate these species on CDm agar. Our results show that the two closely related ochratoxigenic species responsible for the contamination of wine and other wine grape products can be discriminated by the use of qualitative volatile fingerprints. This approach could have potential for rapid identification of A. carbonarius and A. niger on wine grape samples, thereby significantly reducing the time of detection of these ochratoxin A producing species.