GREMIÃO, I. D. F. et al. Brazilian Journal Of Microbiology. 2020Sporothrix brasiliensis spreads between cats and peopleGREMIÃO, I. D. F. et al. Brazilian Journal Of Microbiology. 2020
Another disease is spreading in Brazil: sporotrichosis, a fungal infection caused by the genus Sporothrix, which enters the body through wounds in the skin. Genetic analyses indicate an ongoing epidemic in Brazil, caused mainly by the fungus S. brasiliensis. Transmission has occurred from animal to animal and from animal to human. Of the 72 samples of various species of Sporothrix examined (collected from 2013 to 2022), 55 were from human sporotrichosis and 17 were from animals, mainly from cats, which are the main transmitters; 67 were from Brazil, three from the US, and two from Colombia. In another study, a group from the Federal University of Rural Pernambuco (UFRPE) and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) identified 1,176 cases of sporotrichosis in cats in the municipalities of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Olinda, and Recife—all in Pernambuco—between 2016 and 2021. According to genetic analysis, the predominant species, S. brasiliensis, may have come from Rio de Janeiro. In cats and dogs, the mycosis primarily causes lesions on the face, ears, and paws. In people, the initial wound is similar to an insect bite—it can disappear spontaneously or travel to the lungs, where it can cause coughing, shortness of breath, fever, and painful breathing. Standard treatment is antifungal medication for three to six months (Lancet Microbe, March; Mycopathology, July 14).
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