Esporotricose em gatos comunitários do Hospital Universitário Professor Alberto Antunes

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a dermatophytosis caused by fungi of the genus Sporothrix, which can affect humans and animals. The fungus can be found in the soil, pieces of wood, living plants and in decomposing plant material, and the transmission of the disease occurs by the traumatic inoculation of the fungus through the skin, from animal to animal, or from animal to human being, through bites, scratches and contact with exudates from skin lesions. Male felines, not castrated with free access to the street, are predisposed and play an important role in the transmission of the agent, resulting from injuries caused by fights with other infected cats. People who are involved in the care of sick animals and women with a median age of 41 years are also more likely to contract the disease. In addition to the high risk that immunosuppressed people are at, since in approximately 23% of cases of human sporotrichosis it was observed in patients with primary diseases, such as HIV, malignant neoplasms, infectious conditions, among others. Added to this, the species S. brasiliensis, which is currently the predominant species in Brazil and is considered of high zoonotic potential, in addition to being the most virulent in terms of mortality, tissue damage and systemic dissemination. In view of this, this study reports two cases of sporotrichosis in community cats residing in the area of the University Hospital Professor Alberto Antunes, with transmission to their caregiver in one of the cases, in order to alert the importance of controlling sporotrichosis in risk environments such as hospitals where cats circulate in different environments and may come into direct or indirect contact with patients with primary diseases, immunologically debilitated and susceptible to infection with sporotrichosis.