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Isolation of Sporothrix schenckii From the Claws of Domestic Cats (Indoor and Outdoor) and in Captivity in São Paulo (Brazil)

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An Erratum to this article was published on 15 August 2013

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis and is also a zoonosis (sapro- and anthropozoonosis). The objective of the present study was to determine the occurrence of sporotrichosis in domestic cats and in wild or exotic felines in captivity through the isolation of Sporothrix spp. from claw impressions in a culture medium. The samples included 132 felines, of which 120 (91.0 %) were domestic cats, 11 (8.3 %) were wild felines, and one (0.7 %) was an exotic felid. Twenty-one (17.5 %) were outdoor cats. Of the total, 89 (67.4 %) had contact with other animals of the same species. It was possible to isolate Sporothrix schenckii from the claws of one (0.7 %) of the felids probed; this animal exhibited generalised sporotrichosis and had infected a female veterinarian. The potential pathogenic agents Microsporum canis and Malassezia pachydermatis were isolated in 12.1 and 5.3 % of the animals, respectively. The following anemophilous fungi, which were considered to be contaminants, were also isolated: Penicillium sp. (28 or 21.2 %), Aspergillus sp. (13 or 9.8 %), Rhodotorula sp. (5 or 3.8 %), Candida sp. (5 or 3.8 %), Trichoderma sp. (1 or 0.7 %), and Acremonium sp. (1 or 0.7 %). Due to the low magnitude of occurrence (0.7 %) of Sporothrix in feline claws, the potential of the cats evaluated in this study to be sources of infection in the city of São Paulo is considerably low.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Butantã, São Paulo (SP), 05508-270, Brazil

    Tatiana Saleme Borges, Claudio Nazaretian Rossi & Carlos Eduardo Larsson

  2. J.B.World Entretenimentos, Rua Inácio Francisco de Souza, 1597, Penha, Santa Catarina (SC), CEP: 83385-000, Brazil

    José Daniel Luzes Fedullo

  3. Microbiology Department, Institute of Biomedical Science, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, Butantã, São Paulo (SP), CEP: 05508-270, Brazil

    João Pelleschi Taborda

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  1. Tatiana Saleme Borges
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  2. Claudio Nazaretian Rossi
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  5. Carlos Eduardo Larsson
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Correspondence to Carlos Eduardo Larsson.

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Borges, T.S., Rossi, C.N., Fedullo, J.D.L. et al. Isolation of Sporothrix schenckii From the Claws of Domestic Cats (Indoor and Outdoor) and in Captivity in São Paulo (Brazil). Mycopathologia 176, 129–137 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9658-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9658-8

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