Isolation and Identification of Dermatophytes from the Skin of Cattle Presented for Slaughter at Zango Abattoir, Zaria, Kaduna State

Dermatophytes produce keratinases that dissolve the keratinous tissues of the skin and hairs; inflammation is caused by the host’s response to metabolic by products. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify dermatophytes from the skin of cattle presented for slaughter at Zango abattoir, Zaria, Nigeria. Samples were aseptically collected from twenty (20) cattle, cultured at room temperature for one to four weeks in Sabouraud’s Dextrose Agar (SDA). Growth from pure SDA cultures were sub-cultured on Potato dextrose agar and further incubated at room temperature for one to four weeks. Twelve animals were positive for dermatophytes either by microscopy, culture or both, thus producing an incidence of 60% with respect to the total number of the samples investigated (20). One (1) sample was positive by microscopy but eleven (11) were positive by both microscopy and culture. A large spectrum of dermatophytes consisting of eight species were recovered in the study. They were mostly zoophilic species which included M. canis, T. mentagrophytes, T. verrucosum, M. distortum and T. gallinae. Others were Geophilic specie (M. gypseum) and Anthropophilic species (T. soudanense and T. rubrum). M. canis was the most predominant species consisting of 41.7%. This study clearly demonstrated that cattle dermatophytoses in the study location was caused by different dermatophyte species with M. canis as the most prevalent. Some of the organisms are zoonotic, with public health relevance to animal handlers and butchers.