Abstract
Since some species of dermatophytes are geophilic or zoophilic, soil and animals should be considered as sources of human dermatophytosis. The dermatophytes M. canis, M. nanum and T. mentagrophytes were isolated from soil samples, as well as M. gypseum complex which lives in soil. As for the zoophilic dermatophytes, M. canis was detected mainly in dogs and cats and T. mentagrophytes in rats, hamsters, rabbits and squirrels. T. verrucosum was also obtained from cattle and goats. It should be stressed that animal apparently harbor and carry the dermatophytes and that house dust can contain large amounts of fungal elements from infected animals.
