Here, we report a case of kerion celsi due to
Microsporum canis. The patient was a 5-year-old girl who had palm-sized alopecic patches with severe inflammation on the top of her scalp. We diagnosed this to be tinea capitis, and fungal culture proved the cause to be
M. canis. She was previously diagnosed with scalp eczema at another hospital and had been treated with topical steroids. However, when she visited our hospital, she had a fever and fatigue, and her general condition was poor. Therefore, she needed to be hospitalized for treatment for a period of 9 days. In addition, she was treated with itraconazole (50mg/day) for 75 days.
Almost one year before she became infected, her family cared for a cat in the family home for three months. The patient began noticing scalp symptoms 8 months after the cat had left the family domicile. This suggests that hair and debris from the cat infected with
M. canis remained in the house and could have been the source of infection.
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