An atypical cause of sporotrichosis in a cat

Abstract

A nine-year-old domestic cat from Melbourne, Australia, presented with a non-ulcerated nodule on its nasal bridge. A fungal infection of the subcutis was diagnosed based on histopathology and culture of a white mould, which was identified as Sporothrix pallida complex by ITS1–5.8S-ITS2 and β-tubulin gene sequencing. The cat was treated by cytoreduction, itraconazole and subsequently posaconazole, which eventually resulted in regression of residual infected tissues and clinical resolution.

Canine sporotrichosis: polyphasic taxonomy and antifungal susceptibility profiles of Sporothrix species in an endemic area in Brazil

“…The MIC values found in our study corroborate the results previous described using POS [8,45,64]. The use of this drug in vivo was described in a murine model of sporotrichosis caused by S. brasiliensis, which showed a reduction of the fungal load after treatment [65]; however, it has a high commercial cost, which could limit the use of this drug as a therapeutic alternative.…”

Feline sporotrichosis in Asia

“…However, no speciation nor minimum inhibitory concentration studies were done to ascertain if it is the same clonal strain from Malaysia. Although S. globosa is the most common cause of human sporotrichosis in East Asia, only one documented case of S. globosa-causing disease in a cat has been recorded from Chiba prefecture in Japan, while S. pallida has been identified as an atypical cause of sporotrichosis in a cat from Australia [4,7]. This paucity of data highlights the need for further molecular epidemiological studies to characterize this fungus and the disease it causes in Asia.…”

“…Itraconazole at 5-10 mg/kg has been used successfully to treat feline sporotrichosis, with maximum plasma concentration of 0.7 ± 0.14 mg/L achieved with a 5-mg/kg oral dosing in the cat [43]. Table 1 [3,7,8,[44][45][46][47][48][49]. When compared between species, it would suggest that S. brasiliensis and S. s. sensu stricto are more susceptible to itraconazole and ketoconazole, whereas S. globosa, S. luriei and S. pallida display low susceptibility towards these antifungal agents.…”

“…It is currently recognized as a species complex consisting of Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto, Sporothrix globosa and Sporothrix luriei, united on the fact that they are all able to express increased virulence towards mammals (clinical clade), compared with mildly pathogenic species such as Sporothrix mexicana and Sporothrix pallida that is commonly associated with the environment (environmental clade) [1]. In veterinary medicine, S. brasiliensis, S. s. sensu stricto, S. globosa and S. pallida have been documented to cause of disease in cats, while only S. brasiliensis has been incriminated to cause clinical sporotrichosis in dogs [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The disease is historically referred to as 'Rose Gardeners disease', as the most common route of infection is often traced to the inoculation of conidia into broken skin via contaminated soil or plants during horticultural activities.…”

Esporotricose, O Gato E a Comunidade

“…Um gato infectado por S. pallida foi tratado por citorredução, itraconazol e subsequentemente posaconazol, o que resultou na regressão dos tecidos infectados residuais e resolução clínica (THOMSON et al, 2019). O custo pode limitar seu uso.…”