Comparison of the main methods for laboratory diagnosis of dermatophytosis

Five methods for diagnosing of animal dermatophytosis were comparatively examined. A total of 54 hair samples from pets suspected for dermatophytosis were studied. The diagnostic efficiency of Wood’s lamp testing was 62.5%, while the share of false positive results was 16.7%. The direct microscopy revealed 56.3% positive samples and 7.4% false positive samples. The luminescent microscopy with calcofluor white and inoculation on DTM-Expert medium showed the best diagnostic efficiency i.e., 93.8% and 100%, respectively, with the share of false positive results 9.3% and 5.6%. Inoculation on Sabouraud’s medium revealed 81.3% samples positive for dermatophytosis. In point-of-care settings, DTM-type media is recommended as simple and accurate tool for diagnosing dermatophytosis and asymptomatic dermatophyte carrying.