Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 30;15(8):e0009693.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009693. eCollection 2021 Aug.

The spread of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis due to Sporothrix brasiliensis in Brazil towards the Northeast region

Aurélio de Oliveira Bento  1 , Alexandre Soares de Sena Costa  1 , Soraia Lopes Lima  2 , Manoella do Monte Alves  3 , Analy Salles de Azevedo Melo  2 , Anderson Messias Rodrigues  4 , Walicyranison Plinio da Silva-Rocha  5 , Eveline Pipolo Milan  3 , Guilherme Maranhão Chaves  1
Affiliations

The spread of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis due to Sporothrix brasiliensis in Brazil towards the Northeast region

Aurélio de Oliveira Bento et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Sporotrichosis is a worldwide subcutaneous mycosis caused by Sporothrix spp. In the past, this infection was associated with armadillo hunting, horticulturists, miners, and gardeners, being considered an implantation mycosis acquired by plant debris injury. Nevertheless, since the late nineties, it has been considered a zoonotic disease in Brazil. Here we report a case series of 121 patients with cat-transmitted sporotrichosis seen in Northeast Brazil.

Methodology/principal findings: Patient's demographic, clinical data, and length of treatment were recorded. In addition, a mycological examination and further PCR confirmation of species identification were performed. One hundred and twenty two patients were diagnosed with subcutaneous sporotrichosis from October 2016 to December 2019, while PCR revealed that 71 of them were due to S. brasiliensis. The majority of the individuals were female (n = 86; 70.5%). Patient's age ranged from 5 to 87 years old. The clinical forms found were lymphocutaneous (58.2%) and fixed cutaneous (39.4%). Interestingly, 115 patients reported previous contact with cats diagnosed with sporotrichosis. Patients were successfully treated with itraconazole and potassium iodide.

Conclusions/significance: Our study adds important contributions for the investigation of the spread of cat-transmitted subcutaneous sporotrichosis in Brazil, specifically towards the Northeast region of a continental-size country. It will also help clinicians to be aware of the existence and importance to accurately diagnose sporotrichosis and treat patients with this infectious disease in the lowest income region of Brazil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Clinical forms of cat-transmitted subcutaneous sporotrichosis of patients seen in Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeast Brazil.
A = lymphocutaneous form. B = erythema nodosum. C = Polymorphic erythema. D = Fixed cutaneous form. E = Ulcer-crusted lesion. F = Crusted-plaque lesion. G = Sporotrichotic rosary. H = Reactive arthritis (arthralgia). I = Conjunctival infiltrate.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Spatial distribution of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis in Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeast Brazil from October 2016 to December 2019 (A). The most affected area is Quintas district, in the West Zone of the metropolitan region of Natal (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Garcia Carnero LC, Lozoya Perez NE, Gonzalez Hernandez SE, Martinez Alvarez JA. Immunity and Treatment of Sporotrichosis. J Fungi (Basel). 2018;4(3). Epub 2018/08/22. jof4030100 [pii] doi: 10.3390/jof4030100; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6162376. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Conceicao-Silva F, Morgado FN. Immunopathogenesis of Human Sporotrichosis: What We Already Know. J Fungi (Basel). 2018;4(3). Epub 2018/08/02. jof4030089 [pii] doi: 10.3390/jof4030089; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6162489. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Estrada-Castanon R, Chavez-Lopez G, Estrada-Chavez G, Bonifaz A. Report of 73 cases of cutaneous sporotrichosis in Mexico. An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(6):907–9. Epub 2018/11/30. S0365-05962018000600907 [pii] doi: 10.1590/abd1806-4841.20187726 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6256232. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mialski R, de Oliveira JN Jr., da Silva LH, Kono A, Pinheiro RL, Teixeira MJ, et al.. Chronic Meningitis and Hydrocephalus due to Sporothrix brasiliensis in Immunocompetent Adults: A Challenging Entit y. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018;5(5):ofy081. Epub 2018/07/07. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofy081 ofy081 [pii]. ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6007373. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yagnik KJ, Skelton WPt, Olson A, Trillo CA, Lascano J. A rare case of disseminated Sporothrix schenckii with bone marrow involvement in a patient with idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia. IDCases. 2017;9:70–2. Epub 2017/07/15. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2017.06.012 S2214-2509(17)30096-3 [pii]. ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5503829. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts