A study of mycoflora of the external ear canals in dromedary camels in Iran.

摘要

The prevalence of resident fungal flora in the healthy camels' ears were observed between 2007 and 2008. 95 samples were collected using premoistened swabs from the right and left external ear canals of 95 dromedary camels and cultured on Sabouraud glucose agar, blood agar and modified Dixon's agar media. A total of 27 species of fungus were isolated from 90 camels sampled (94.7%). Both filamentous fungi and yeasts were isolated, with a predominance of Aspergillus, Malassezia and Candida species which were found in 23.9, 21.8 and 18.6% of cultures, respectively. Among the fungal isolates, A. niger (29.5%) and C. albicans (19.8%) were the most prevalent fungal agents, representing significant values when compared with the other fungal isolates (P<0.05). In addition, four pathogens identified as Nocardia asteroides, which was not commonly related to the fungal flora of animals' ears were found. Adult animals (>=3 years old) were more frequently colonized (P<0.05). It is concluded that the data acquired in the study provide helpful insights into the occurrence of fungal flora in dromedary ears and confirm the importance of both clinical examinations and fungal cultures for the diagnosis of otits externa.