Prevalence of mycotic agents isolated from skin lesions of trade horses in Obollor-Afor, Enugu State, Nigeria

The study was aimed at identifying mycotic agents that colonize skin lesions in trade horses found in south eastern Nigeria. Skin scrapings were collected from seventy (70) horses with skin lesions in Obollo -Afor market, Enugu state, south eastern Nigeria. Portions of the skin specimen were treated with 10% KOH for microscopic identification of typical hyphae. Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) slants, supplemented with cycloheximide were used as a standard substrate for the cultures. Cultures were incubated aerobically for 2 weeks at 37°C and were observed daily for growth of fungi isolates. Identification of fungal species was done based on their cultural and morphological characteristics. From the seventy (70) skin scraping samples studied, fifty-six (56) species of fungi belonging to 6 genera were recovered in different frequencies including Aspergillus sp (54%), Mucor spp (32%), Rhizopus oryzae (7%), Penicilium marneffi (2%), Microsporum fulvum (2%) and Tricophyton equinium (4%). More of the isolates were from the female horses than male horses. At p > 0.05 there was no significant difference in the distribution of fungal isolates between females and male horses. The season of the year had no notable impact on the occurrence or frequency of isolation of the fungi. The isolated dermatophytes may be possible aetiological agents of dermatomycoses in horses, while the Saprobes isolated may be contaminants associated with skin infections in horses. These mycotic agents isolated are not known to primarily, affect humans however there may be a possibility of transmission to human and other susceptible animals that cohabit with these horses. Keywords: Equine, Mycotic agent, Prevalence, Skin lesion