Dear Angela:
 
From a couple of day's posts on Ringworm:
 
>I think my human baby has them.I'm a SAHM so she didn't get them from
>other kids.
 
Without a positive diagnosis, which usually requires a culture, please
realize that a lot of skin conditions can give a red spreading rash that
can look like ringworm.  As a father or a small child, a superficial
staph infection of the skin can resemble ringworm quite readily.
 
Ringworm is a bad name for this disease.  It is actually a fungus, not a
worm.  We generally call it dermatophytosis (ringworm is an outdated term).
Dermatophyte fungi are omnipresent in nature - we contact them all day
long.  When an infection is established, the fungus lives in the hair
follicles and invades the hair shaft, resulting in breakage and loss of
the hair.
 
>2nd: None of my pets have them but my husband says they could carry it.
>T or F?
 
While ferrets can contract it, they are not known as major carriers.
Ferrets with ringworm have well-circumscribed patches of brittle hair,
hair loss, and a crusty grey-yellow skin underneath.
 
>3rd: Could ringworms have come from the vets?  We were there for shots and
>I had the baby with me- now for the flame I'm going to get-I weighed her
>on vets scale-But that was at the first of the month.  We were also at the
>vets to get pup spaded.  Could we have carried it back with us?
 
Possibly, but probably not.  Most disinfectants easily kill ringworm.
 
>4th: Baby sees Dr. tommorrow but how do I deal with them if it's in the
>carpet or one of the pets is a carrier?
 
I know it's in the carpet, and your grass, curtains, all the trees down the
block, just about everywhere.  However, ringworm usually needs injured skin
or an immunosuppressed host to take hold.  Becasue vets are exposed quite
often, ringworm is a job hazard - but rarely does it require treatment.
I've had numberous cases - sometimes I use so cream I purchase at the drug
store, mostly not, and my immune system knocks it out in a week or two.
 
>The Dr. thinks it came from my sons athletes foot but my husband (a
>Microbiologist)disagrees.
 
Got to go with your husband.  Tinea pedis, the fungus that causes athletes
foot generally doesn't cross species lines, and has not been reported in
domestic animals to my knowledge.  Usually in ferrets, it is of the
Microsporum or Trichophytom families.
 
>He is bringing home a black light to check the cats and ferrets.
 
Look closely at the cats - sometimes cats can be inapparent carriers - they
are loaded with the fungi, but don't show any disease.  Most infections pet
owners get are from cats.  REmember, when checking the carpet - not
everything that fluoresces is fungus!!!
 
A better way to establish if your ferrets have it is to have your vet run a
culture - all you need is some hair (especially if there are any lesions)
inculated into a culture for 7-10 days - an easy, painless test for cats
and ferrets.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3295]