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Abstract

A total of 148 cats with a clinical and mycologic diagnosis of sporotrichosis and 84 apparently healthy cats with domiciliary contact with the affected animals were studied. Sporothrix schenckii was isolated from 148 (n = 148; 100%) clinical samples of cutaneous lesion (biopsy, swab or aspiration of purulent secretion), 47 (n = 71; 66.2%) nasal cavities, 33 (n = 79; 41.8%) oral cavities, and 15 (n = 38; 39.5%) nails of cats with sporotrichosis. Histopathological examination revealed yeast-like structures in 50 (n = 70; 71.4%) of the biopsies studied. S. schenckii was isolated from the blood culture of one cat (n = 5, 20%) with the disseminated cutaneous form of the disease. On another occasion, the fungus was isolated from the testis of one (n = 7; 14.3%) of the animals submitted to sterilization. In the group of cats with domiciliary contacts, 3 (n = 84; 3.57%) oral swabs showed positive cultures. Isolation of S. schenckii from different clinical specimens during both the clinical and preclinical phase reinforces the zoonotic potential of feline sporotrichosis.

Domestic feline contribution in the transmission of Sporothrix in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil: a comparison between infected and non-infected populations

“…Since the first report of sporotrichosis zoonotic transmission in 1998, the disease has shown a progressive increase in the number of human and animal cases, most of them admitted at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IPEC-FIOCRUZ), which is the reference center for diagnosis and treatment of the disease [2, 4, 7, 9, 17, 18, 20]. Thus, the available literature on clinical-epidemiological data of sporotrichosis in the state of Rio de Janeiro is limited to these populations.…”

“…The disease was formerly known as Rose gardener’s disease because of its acquisition through traumatic inoculation of plant organic matter, but it is currently considered a zoonosis because of its transmittance through scratches or bites of cats. In fact, the feline particular behavior exposes them to possible environmental niches of the fungi in its saprophytic phase since scratching tree trunks and other surfaces, burying their feces and licking their bodies, facilitates nails and nasopharynx/oral cavity to carry particles of these fungi [4, 5]. Therefore, these animals are at higher risk for Sporothrix spp.…”

“…Therefore, these animals are at higher risk for Sporothrix spp. conidia colonization and subsequent infection, playing a key role in the transmission of this zoonosis because they promote the traumatic implantation of the fungi in the subcutaneous tissue of humans and of other animals and also because they have an exuberant clinical presentation of sporotrichosis with intense proliferation of the parasitic form of the fungus [4–6]. …”

“…Several authors have investigated the clinical-epidemiological, immunological and molecular aspects of sporotrichosis, and they have primarily focused on the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro [2, 4, 8, 11, 15, 17, 18]. Despite these studies, data on the presence of the fungi on the nails and in the oral cavity of cats that do not carry the disease as well as of those infected are inconclusive.…”

“…Despite these studies, data on the presence of the fungi on the nails and in the oral cavity of cats that do not carry the disease as well as of those infected are inconclusive. Indeed, the few studies that have addressed this issue in Brazil have been restricted to the states of Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo and also the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro [4–6, 9, 16, 19, 20]. None of these studies included domestic felines inhabiting areas other than the metropolitan region of the state of Rio de Janeiro.…”