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Case Reports
. 2022 May 24;15(5):e248418.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-248418.

Zoonotic acquisition of cutaneous Sporothrix braziliensis infection in the UK

Raissa Rachman  1 , Marcin Ligaj  2 , Suchitra Chinthapalli  3 , Robert Serafino Wani  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Zoonotic acquisition of cutaneous Sporothrix braziliensis infection in the UK

Raissa Rachman et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A veterinarian presented with multiple erythematous tender nodules over his right hand and arm. One month prior to the appearance of the lesions, he had treated a cat imported from Brazil who had ulcerated pustular cutaneous lesions. Despite antibiotic treatment there had been no improvement in his symptoms.Biopsies from the patient were sent for histology, bacterial and fungal culture. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stains showed a PAS positive oval yeast-like micro-organism with surrounding necrosis. Fungal cultures resembling Sporothrix species grew after 18 days with typical appearances seen on direct microscopy; this was confirmed as Sporothrix brasiliensis on 18S PCR. The patient was treated with oral itraconazole.This is a unique case of cutaneous S. brasiliensis acquired from an infected imported cat. S. brasiliensis is a rare pathogen in the UK. This case has clinical relevance due to its unusual aetiology and in raising awareness of rarer infections associated with importation of pets and global travel. Clinicians should be aware of sporotrichosis as a differential diagnosis for cutaneous and extracutaneous infection in patients with a high risk of exposure, as well as the use of appropriate diagnostic tests.

Keywords: Dermatology; Global Health; Infectious diseases; Tropical medicine (infectious disease).

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of sporotrichoid spread seen over patient’s right arm.(Courtesy of patient, 2021)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ulcerated lesion seen on patient’s finger. (Courtesy of patient, 2021)
Figure 3
Figure 3
High magnification (600x) pictures of the periodic acid-Schiff stain with one micro-organism surrounded by mixed inflammatory infiltrate (Image courtesy Dr Marcin Ligaj, Consultant Histopathologist, 2021)
Figure 4
Figure 4
High magnification (600x) pictures of the periodic acid-Schiff stain with one micro-organism surrounded by mixed inflammatory infiltrate (Image courtesy Dr Marcin Ligaj, Consultant Histopathologist, 2021).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Colony growth seen on Sabourard dextrose agar.(Courtesy of Dr Raissa Rachman, 2021)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Lactophenol cotton blue stain seen at high magnification (100x) showing branching hyphae and clustered conidia typically seen in Sporothrix spp.(Courtesy of Dr Raissa Rachman, 2021)
Figure 7
Figure 7
Resolution of lesion on patient’s finger. (Courtesy of patient, 2021)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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