Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Skin bacteria do not affect fungal infection signs in Persian cats
By Santana, Aline E et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2026·Department of Internal Medicine, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Skin Commensal Microbiota Does Not Influence the Clinical Course of Dermatophyte Infection in Persian Cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of Persian cats with skin lesions and signs of a fungal infection (dermatophytosis) were studied to see if the bacteria and fungi living on their skin affected their symptoms. The researchers found that the skin microbiota was similar in both symptomatic cats with skin issues and asymptomatic cats without visible signs, indicating that the skin's natural bacteria and fungi likely don't influence how severe the infection is. Instead, it seems that the cat's immune system plays a more important role in how the infection presents.
People also search for: Persian cat skin infection treatment · cat dermatophyte infection symptoms · why does my cat have skin lesions
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes can be isolated from both symptomatic and asymptomatic cats, yet the role of skin commensals in modulating disease expression remains unclear. This study investigates whether microbial skin communities influence the clinical presentation (symptomatic or asymptomatic) of dermatophyte infection in Persian cats. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: We hypothesised that the fungal and bacterial skin microbiota differ between Persian cats with and without clinical signs of dermatophytosis. The objectives of this study were to compare the fungal and bacterial skin microbiota among healthy, symptomatic, and asymptomatic cats with dermatophytosis and to evaluate the performance of two skin sampling methods (carpet and toothbrush) for microbiome analysis. ANIMALS: Forty-five cats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cats were grouped according to clinical presentation: Persian cats with skin lesions characteristic of dermatophytosis (multifocal alopecia and scaling) and a positive fungal culture (symptomatic group; n = 15), Persian cats with no skin lesions and a positive fungal culture (asymptomatic group; n = 15), and domestic short hair cats with no history and clinical signs of skin disease and negative fungal culture (negative group; n = 15). Hair and scale samples were collected using carpet and toothbrush techniques from all animals. Fungal and bacterial communities were investigated using high-throughput sequencing targeting internal transcribed spacer (ITS)1 and 16S ribosomal (r)RNA genes. RESULTS: Our data showed that the taxonomic composition of fungal and bacterial communities was similar between symptomatic and asymptomatic cats, regardless of the sampling method used. No notable differences were identified in the relative abundance of Microsporum spp. between symptomatic and asymptomatic cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our findings suggest that the commensal microbiota may not influence the clinical presentation of dermatophyte infection. Instead, other factors, such as the host immune response, appear to play a pivotal role in determining disease outcomes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786640/