ABSTRACT
An epidemic of sporotrichosis, a subcutaneous mycosis caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii, is ongoing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in which cases of human infection are related to exposure to cats. In an attempt to demonstrate the zoonotic character of this epidemic using molecular methodology, we characterised by DNA-based typing methods 19 human and 25 animal S. schenckii isolates from the epidemic, as well as two control strains. To analyse the isolates, the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was performed using three different primers, together with DNA fingerprinting using the minisatellite derived from the wild-type phage M13 core-sequence. The analyses generated amplicons with considerable polymorphism. Although isolates exhibited high levels of genetic relatedness, they could be clustered into 5-10 genotypes. The RAPD profiles of epidemic S. schenckii isolates could be distinguished from that of the United States isolate, displaying 20 percent similarity to each primer and 60 percent when amplified with the M13 primer. DNA fingerprinting of S. schenckii isolated from the nails (42.8 percent) and the oral cavities (66 percent) of cats were identical to related human samples, suggesting that there is a common infection source for animals and humans in this epidemic. It is clear that cats act as a vehicle for dissemination of S. schenckii.
Subject(s)
Animals , Cats , Humans , Cat Diseases/microbiology , Disease Outbreaks , Sporothrix/isolation & purification , Sporotrichosis/microbiology , Brazil/epidemiology , Cat Diseases/diagnosis , Cat Diseases/epidemiology , DNA Fingerprinting , DNA, Fungal , Mycological Typing Techniques , Polymorphism, Genetic , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique , Sporothrix/genetics , Sporotrichosis/diagnosis , Sporotrichosis/epidemiology , Sporotrichosis/veterinaryABSTRACT
During the period from 1987 to 1998, 13 cases of human sporotrichosis were recorded at the Research Center Evandro Chagas Hospital (CPqHEC) in Rio de Janeiro. Two of these patients related scratch by a sick cat. During the subsequent period from July 1998 to July 2000, 66 human, 117 cats and 7 dogs with sporotrichosis were diagnosed at the CPqHEC. Fifty-two humans (78.8 percent) reported contact with cats with sporotrichosis, and 31 (47 percent) of them reporting a history of a scratch or bite. This epidemic, unprecedented in the literature, involving cats, dogs and human beings may have started insidiously before 1998
Subject(s)
Humans , Animals , Male , Female , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Cats , Dogs , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/epidemiology , Sporotrichosis/epidemiology , Brazil/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Rhinoentomophthoramycosis caused by Conidiobolus coronatus in a 61-year old woman was unsuccessfully treated during 8 years with all the antifungals available in the Brazilian market, including potassium iodide for 1 month, sulfamethoxazole plus trimethoprim for 2 months, amphotericin B, total dose of 1130 mg, cetoconazole, 400 mg/day for 6 months, fluconazole, 200 mg/day, for at least 2 months and, itraconazole, 400 mg/day for 2 months, followed by 200 mg/day for 4 more months. Complete clinical and mycological cure was achieved using itraconazol 400 mg/day in association with fluconazol 200 mg/day during 24 months. After cure she was submitted to plastic surgery to repair her facial deformation. Today she remains clinically and mycologically cured after 59/60 months (5 years!) without any specific antifungal. We thus suggest the use of the combination of itraconazole and fluconazole as an additional option for the treatment of this mycosis
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Middle Aged , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Conidiobolus , Fluconazole/therapeutic use , Zygomycosis/drug therapy , Nose Diseases/microbiology , Nose Diseases/drug therapy , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Em 109 casos de dermatofitose (grupo teste) e 200 controles atendidos no Ambulatório de Dermatologia do Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho no período de 1984 a 1988, foram investigados o uso de sapatos fechados, banheiros coletivos, piscinas e contato com animal domésticos como fontes de infecçäo; diabetes, obesidade, grupos de antibióticos e/ou corticóides foram avaliados como fatores predisponentes. A avaliaçäo estatística dos grupos estudados através do teste do qui-quadrado revelou que o uso calçados fechados e o diabetes säo fatores de risco. A dermatofitose dos pés foi a forma clínica mais observada e o Trichophyton rubrum a espécie mais prevalente