Experimental dermatophilosis

Abstract

The histopathologic features of an experimental dermatophilosis of rabbit skin were described. The strain of Dermatophilus congolensis used for the experimental infection was obtained from the unique isolation and cultivation of this actinomycete from the ulcerous leg lesion of one male patient. Further strains in experiment came from the collections of type cultures. The experimental infection was characterized as an exudative and crustal dermatitis with acanthosis and subcorneal abscesses. Branching hyphae and clusters of coccoid bodies were found mostly in the parakeratotic layer and infrequently in the abscesses. Both the coccoid bodies and the hyphae were Gram-positive. The hyphae were acid-fast but the coccoid bodies were non-acid-fast. The fine structure of hyphae and coccoid bodies, namely of those with flagella, was also described by means of a transmission and scanning electron microscope.