Hi Jasmine,
That article is looking specifically at
trichophyton indotineae and
trichophyton rubrum which are two primarily human infections. These are types of ringworm infections that are typically more prevalent in India and other parts of Asia and Africa. While there have been some cases reported in Europe and North America, there haven't been any notable outbreaks.
For shelters like ours, the most common outbreak you would see would come from the species of fungus known as
microsporum canis, which accounts for about 90%+ of all cat ringworm infections and the majority of dog infections. The other two species for animals would be
microsporum gypseum and
trichophyton mentagrophytes.
While all of these fall into the same class of
dermatophyte fungi which have the potential to be zoonotic and transfer between humans and animals, both
indotineae and
rubrum are considered anthropophilic, which means that they greatly favor human hosts.
So while the threat is very real, hence the CDC article, you can breathe a little sigh of relief that this won't be affecting your rescue anytime soon.
If you're having trouble with ringworm in general, UW-Madison Shelter Medicine Program is an incredible expert resource on ringworm protocol and treatment. They have a
basic guidebook available here and plenty of outreach veterinarians who would be willing to talk with your organization about best practices.
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Jeff Okazaki
Humane Society of Jefferson County
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