A CASE OF EXFOLIATIVE DERMATITIS IN A CAPTIVE SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS (CERATOTHERIUM-SIMUM SIMUM)

A southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) exhibited at t he Antwerp Zoo suffered from exfoliative dermatitis. Treatment with to pical antibiotics was ineffective. Large numbers of Malassezia pachyde rmatis and Candida parapsilosis yeast cells were found in the lesions by light microscopy and culture. Application of natamycin solution b.i .d. for 1 mo and s.i.d. for another month resulted in complete recover y. In contrast to earlier reports that characterized microorganisms is olated from rhinoceros skin lesions as secondary invaders, the positiv e response to natamycin treatment reported here suggests the pathogeni city of both M. pachydermatis and C. parapsilosis.