Some extra-human reservoirs of pathogenic fungi in New Zealand.

Abstract 1. 1) An investigation into the incidence of pathogenic fungi in 148 non-domestic mammals and 167 soil samples has been carried out. 2. 2) Trichophyton mentagrophytes was isolated from 25 hedgehogs and one opossum. T. terrestre was isolated from five hedgehogs; Microsporum cookei and Keratinomyces ajelloi were each recovered once from an opossum. 3. 3) Candida albicans was isolated from the intestinal tract of two hedgehogs and five cats. 4. 4) Five strains of C. albicans , one strain each of Microsporum gypseum, M. cookei and T. terrestre , and 67 of K. ajelloi , were isolated from soil samples. 5. 5) The results of the investigation are discussed and attention is drawn to the very high infection rate of T. mentagrophytes in hedgehogs.