Evaluation of the Origin of a Sample of Sporothrix Schenckii that Caused Contamination of a Researcher in Southern Brazil

Abstract

We report a case of a researcher from a laboratory of Mycology in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil that presented a clinical evidence of sporotrichosis. The researcher had an accident while manipulating the microculture slides of chromoblastomycosis agents and presented a clinical evidence of sporotrichosis. As the laboratory has some cultures of Sporothrix schenckii, it was suggested that it might be a laboratory contamination. In order to test this hypothesis, the genotypic characterization of the samples was performed by means of the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis method. In addition, we evaluated the in vitro antifungal activity of four antifungal agents against the isolated fungus. The sample obtained from the researcher was not genetically similar to any of the samples kept in the laboratory and showed the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.5 μg/mL for itraconazole and ketoconazole, > 64 μg/mL for fluconazole and 0.125 μg/mL for terbinafine. It is suggested that the contamination had an environmental origin.

Sporotrichosis by Sporothrix schenckii senso stricto with itraconazole resistance and terbinafine sensitivity observed in vitro and in vivo : Case report

“…This antifungal can also be used in the disseminated form of the disease [14] . For cutaneous forms, alternatively, oral potassium iodide solution could be used, since it is considered a first-choice drug in developing countries, due to its high efficiency, low cost and safety profile [2] , [15] , [16] . However, the occurrence of adverse effects with iodine (such as gastrointestinal intolerance and metallic taste) and the more convenient dosage of more modern drugs represent some of the factors that limit its use [17] .…”

Sucesso terapêutico da terbinafina em um caso de esporotricose

“…In addition, they were resistant to fluconazole, as has been described by other authors. 8,10,14 The failure of therapy with itraconazole may be due to acquired resistance by the organism to the drug after treatment with this antifungal and/or even by the reduction of the production of gastric juice which often occurs in the elderly, reducing the bioavailability of the drug and thus its inability to reach the serum concentration needed to fight the fungus. 9 Thus, terbinafine is presented as an antifungal agent of choice for use in elderly patients compared with itraconazole, since terbinafine is not influenced by gastric pH and presents fewer interactions with other drugs.…”

“…The DNA of the isolates was extracted by the Power Soil DNA Isolation Kit (MO BIO Laboratories) and subjected to Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), using the primers OPG-10, OPG-14 and OPG-19 (Prodimol Biotechnology SA, Brazil), with the components and amplification conditions according to Landell et al 10 Polymorphic amplified patterns were subjected to electrophoresis on 1% agarose gel at 60 V for 90 minutes, followed by transluminator visualization under ultraviolet light. The two strains showed different fragment patterns when the primer OPG-10 was used.…”