Clinical and epidemiological characterization of sporotrichosis in dogs and cats (São Paulo, Brazil)

Resumo

The present study retrospectively characterized canine and feline sporotrichosis in male and female individuals of various ages. The patients had been attended at the Dermatology Service of a university veterinary hospital and the diagnosis had been confirmed by isolation and identification of Sporothrix spp in culture media. The study obtained and analyzed medical records from a period of 19 years (1993- 2011). From the evaluated sample, 37 animals were considered for the study, including eight (21.6%) dogs and 29 (78.4%) cats. The patients were mostly male (30/37-86.5%) and had mean ages of 79.5 months for dogs and 36.3 months for cats. Most of the patients had no defined breed (25/37-67.6%). The localized cutaneous form of the disease was most prevalent (25/37-67.6%), and all cases presented positive histopathological diagnoses. Among the cats with sporotrichosis, infection was also observed in animals and/or humans that lived with these cats in 17/37 (45.9%) cases. However, none of the affected dogs appeared to spread the infection, as there were no clinical signs that were consistent with the disease. Sporotrichosis was most prevalent among male mixed-breed cats, most of which had a clinical presentation that was consistent with the localized cutaneous form of the disease. In the studied sample, cats constituted an important source of infection for animals and humans living in the same household.