A Case of Trychophyton mentagrophytes var. erinacei Infection from a Patient's Pet Hedgehog / 대한의진균학회지

ABSTRACT

Hedgehogs are nocturnal spiny mammals in a rodent family. Recently in Korea, the more hedgehogs are raised in the house as pets, the more people are acquired various infections from them. Herein, we report a case of Trichophyton(T.) mentagrophytes var. erinacei infection transmitted from the patient's pet hedgehog. The patient was a 37-year-old man who raised a hedgehog for 6 months. He presented with scaly, erythematous papules and plaques on the left hand and right elbow for 3 months. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) examination, fungus culture and PCR for the fungal strain showed T. mentagrophytes var. erinacei. Treatment was performed systemically and topically with antifungal agents and skin lesions were improved without recurrence. Up to date, there have been only three case-reports of T. mentagrophytes var. erinacei infection transmitted from pet hedgehogs in the English literature. Here we report a rare and interesting case.