Malaseb Shampoo

Dermatophytosis

Age is an important factor in the occurrence of dermatophytosis. It is more common in young animals due to the immaturity of their immune system, which is unable to mount an effective inflammatory response to terminate the infection, making them more prone to the disease infection. Hot, humid climates may also increase the incidence of dermatophytosis, as does the amount of time the animal spends outdoors, since dermatophytes are transmitted by contact with infected hair and scales or fungal elements on animals and/or the environment. Suppression of immunomechanisms, chronic or aggressive steroid therapy and conditions such as feline leukemia virus infection, FIV or neoplasia may increase susceptibility to dermatophytosis.

Diagnosis is usually best accomplished by dermatophyte test medium culture. If a pet is cultured positive, topical antifungal therapy is recommended to reduce the possibility of spreading the infection to other pets and/or humans. Clipping may be needed in order to remove infected hair; however, it needs to be done very carefully to avoid the spread of infection. Patients with multifocal or generalized infection or those that do not respond to topical therapy after a 2 to 4 week treatment may also need to receive systemic therapy. But systemic antifungal therapy may not rapidly reduce contagion so it is recommended to be used in conjunction with topical antifungal therapy. Environmental treatment is also important due to the survival of infectious arthrospores and the potential for reinfection.

Studies have shown that the treatment of cats with M. Canis by a combination of systemic and topical therapy resulted in a more rapid resolution of the clinical signs than with systemic therapy alone. It has also been demonstrated that shampoo therapy in horses allows better penetration of lesions as well as removal of contaminated material. It is recommended that therapy continue until the infection has been totally resolved; therefore, client compliance is critical in successful treatment of dermatophytosis.