Search

Feline sporotrichosis has emerged as an important public health issue in some countries, especially Brazil. Currently, zoonotic transmission of Sporothrix brasiliensis by domestic cats is the major sporotrichosis spread form throughout this country. Sporotrichosis in Brazil is a good model for the One Health concept application, which connects the environment, human and animal health. Under this thinking, the aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of sporotrichosis in cats from Rolim de Moura, Rondônia, Brazil, using antibody detection by an ELISA test previously validated for human diagnosis. For the standardization of this test, 30 serum samples from cats with proven sporotrichosis and 11 sera from healthy cats were used. The assay showed 87% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the diagnosis of feline sporotrichosis. After the standardization, 202 serum samples from distinct cats from Rolim de Moura were evaluated. The test was positive in 63 (31.19%) cats from the studied area. A multivariate analysis revealed that living far from forest or agricultural areas as well as pure breed animals had higher odds ratios (3.157 and 2.281, respectively) for the presence of detectable levels of anti-Sporothrix antibodies. These results show the applicability of this assay in the detection of anti-Sporothrix antibodies in feline serum samples and point to a putative new occurrence area of urban sporotrichosis dispersing to the North region of Brazil.

Sporotrichosis is a cosmopolitan subcutaneous mycosis caused by Sporothrix species. Recently, this mycosis has gained notoriety due to the appearance of new endemic areas, recognition of new pathogenic species, changes in epidemiology, occurrence of outbreaks, and increasing numbers of cases. The purpose of this study is to analyze the peculiarities of sporotrichosis cases in Brazil since its first report in the country until 2020. In this work, ecological, epidemiological, clinical, and laboratorial characteristics were compiled. A systematic review of human sporotrichosis diagnosed in Brazil and published up to December 2020 was performed on PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, Web of Science, and LILACS databases. Furthermore, animal sporotrichosis and environmental isolation of Sporothrix spp. in Brazil were also evaluated. The study included 230 papers, resulting in 10,400 human patients. Their ages ranged from 5 months to 92 years old and 55.98% were female. The lymphocutaneous form was predominant (56.14%), but systemic involvement was also notably reported (14.34%), especially in the lungs. Besides, hypersensitivity manifestations (4.55%) were described. Most patients had the diagnosis confirmed by isolation of Sporothrix spp., mainly from skin samples. Sporothrix brasiliensis was the major agent identified. HIV infection, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. Cure rate was 85.83%. Concerning animal sporotrichosis, 8538 cases were reported, mostly in cats (90.77%). Moreover, 13 Sporothrix spp. environmental strains were reported. This review highlights the burden of the emergent zoonotic sporotrichosis in Brazil, reinforcing the importance of “One Health” based actions to help controlling this disease. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42770-021-00658-1.

In Brazil, sporotrichosis has transitioned from a rural to urban disease, driven by a shift in the initiation of infection from the accidental inoculation of organic matter to the traumatic implantation of the fungus by cats. Since the emergence of zoonotic sporotrichosis caused by

The zoonotic transmission of sporotrichosis due to

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis with worldwide distribution and caused by eight pathogenic species of the Sporothrix genus. Different ex situ preservation methods are used around the world to maintain the survival, morphophysiological and genetic traits of fungal strains isolated from patients with sporotrichosis for long terms. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the survival, phenotypic and genotypic stability of Sporothrix strains after preservation on PDA slant stored at 4 °C, sterile water and cryopreservation at −80 °C, for a period of time of 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of storage. Eight clinical Sporothrix isolates were identified based on a polyphasic approach consisting of classical macro- and micro-morphological traits, biochemical assays, proteomic profiles by MALDI-TOF MS and molecular biology. According to the final identification, one strain was identified as S. schenckii (CMRVS 40428) and seven strains were re-identified as S. brasiliensis (CMRVS 40421, CMRVS 40423, CMRVS 40424, CMRVS 40425, CMRVS 40426, CMRVS 40427 and CMRVS 40433). In addition, it was observed that the isolates survived after the different time points of storage in distilled water, PDA slant and cryopreservation at −80 °C. For fungi preserved in water, low polymorphisms were detected by the partial sequencing of β-tubulin. Cryopreservation at −80 °C induced morphological changes in one single isolate. The proteomic profiles obtained by MALDI-TOF MS after preservation showed differences among the methods. In conclusion, preservation on agar slant stored at 4 °C was the most effective method to preserve the eight clinical Sporothrix strains. This method produced less change in the phenotypic traits and kept the genetic integrity of all strains. Agar slant stored at 4 °C is a simple and inexpensive method and can be especially used in culture collections of limited funding and resources., The authors are grateful to the Carlos Chagas Filho State Funding Agency (FAPERJ-Grants: JCNE E297 26/203.301/2017; JCNE E-26/201.433/2021–MMEO; E-26/202.737/2019), CAPES (Process 001; D.C.-M fellowship 88882.317297/2019-01), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-Grant Proc. 409227/2016-1). C. Santos thanks the funding from the Universidad de La Frontera through the research project FAPESP-UFRO 2020/07546-2. This study was also partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of the UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit, the BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte and it also had the partial support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871129 - IS_MIRRI21 Project., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background Sporotrichosis has been occurring as outbreaks in Brazil, reaching epidemic levels in some regions. Zoonotic transmission is the main route to acquire Sporothrix. Case report We describe a case of disseminated sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis in an HIV/AIDS patient, with the presentation of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). Conclusions This case reinforces that sporotrichosis should always be suspected in patients with IRIS from endemic regions, even in patients without the typical cutaneous lesions of this mycosis.

Sporotrichosis is a human and animal disease caused by dimorphic pathogenic species of the genus Sporothrix. We report a dramatic presentation of Sporothrix brasiliensis infection, with destruction of the nasal septum, soft palate, and uvula of an HIV-infected woman. She was successfully treated with amphotericin B deoxycholate followed by itraconazole. Sporotrichosis remains a neglected opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS and awareness of this potentially fatal infection is of utmost importance. Keywords: Hard palate, HIV infection, Nasal septal perforation, Sporotrichosis, Sporothrix brasiliensis

In Brazil, sporotrichosis has transitioned from a rural to urban disease, driven by a shift in the initiation of infection from the accidental inoculation of organic matter to the traumatic implantation of the fungus by cats. Since the emergence of zoonotic sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis, investigations have largely ignored the environmental habitat of the pathogen due to its association with domestic cats. Therefore, we investigated 18 environmental samples collected from rural areas of two cities where zoonotic sporotrichosis is endemic, but where domestic cats are scarce. We utilized traditional culture methods, and samples were also examined with two molecular methods used for the clinical diagnosis of sporotrichosis: a nested-PCR targeting the ITS region and a species-specific PCR targeting the calmodulin gene. No Sporothrix colonies were identified by traditional culture methods. However, the nested-PCR and the species-specific PCR for S. brasiliensis were positive for 18 and 5 samples, respectively. Sequencing revealed that positive results with the nested-PCR were due to non-specific amplification of other Ophiostomatales DNA, rather than Sporothrix spp. Three of the five amplicons from the species-specific PCR were suitable for sequencing and confirmed the presence of S. brasiliensis DNA. Hence, we confirmed that S. brasiliensis, as with other Sporothrix species, has an environmental habitat. Our findings underscore the challenges of nested-PCR for Sporothrix environmental studies and highlight that sequencing must follow PCR protocols to definitively identify Sporothrix spp. in environmental samples.

We describe the successful treatment of a series of 30 zoonotic sporotrichosis cases from southern Brazil. Sporothrix brasiliensis was the species genotypically identified in all 25 confirmed cases. Five other cases were classified as probable, without laboratory confirmation, but with clinical and epidemiological data of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis. Two isolates were sequenced by translation elongation factor-1 alpha (EF1α) loci in order to compare their sequences, and both of them showed distinct genotypes from S. brasiliensis strains from other Brazilian states. Itraconazole (ITZ) or potassium iodide (KI) were the first choice treatment in 28 and 2 cases, respectively. Microdilution assay showed a wild-type profile of S. brasiliensis isolates to ITZ. However, a lack of clinical response occurred in 42% of cases, especially those treated with ITZ 100 mg/day, and treatment needed modifications, by either increased doses or antifungal combinations. Clinical cure required a mean of 187 days of treatment, which was dependent on the clinical form of the disease and age of patients. Therapy, including dosages and durations, for cutaneous forms of sporotrichosis requires re-evaluation, since cases caused by S. brasiliensis may influence treatment efficacy.