Use of a Dermatophyte Antigen Kit as a New Rapid Screening Test for Feline Dermatophytosis

This study evaluated a lateral flow dermatophyte antigen kit (Kit) for rapid diagnosis of feline dermatophytosis. The Kit, originally used for human onychomycosis, was tested on 20 healthy cats and six cats with dermatophytosis. Hair samples from healthy cats yielded negative Kit results, although fungal culture detected environmental fungi in 4 of 20 cases. In dermatophytosis cases, the Kit correctly identified all six infected cats, including two cats tested with a single infected hair. Cultures confirmed Microsporum canis in all positive cases. These findings suggest that the kit may be useful as new rapid screening test for animal dermatophytosis.