Determination of the frequency of the fungus Sporothrix spp. on nails of asymptomatic cats for sporotrichosis

• Grant number: 16/25917-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Sandra de Moraes Gimenes Bosco
• Grantee: Natália Roim Ferreira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis that affects a great number of animal species, with greater casuistic in humans and cats. The infection results from the traumatic implantation of fungi from Sporothrix schenckii complex into the subcutaneous tissue, usually by traumas to plants or by scratching of domestic felines, although several other forms of transmission are known. This disease has been described in several countries, with a higher prevalence in tropical and temperate regions. Brazil, besides being one of its main endemic areas, was also the scene of the largest zoonotic epidemic of sporotrichosis documented to this day.Feline sporotrichosis has great relevance in public health because cats are in close contact with man and with plant materials where fungus is found in nature. In addition, it should be taken into consideration that in recent years the population of felines as pets has been increasing. These animals also act as reservoirs of the pathogen, in which the agent can be isolated from cutaneous lesions, oral cavity and nails. In the nails it is possible to isolate the fungus, even in asymptomatic cats. The present project aims to research Sporothrix spp. on the nails of 100 asymptomatic cats for sporotrichosis admitted at the Veterinary Hospital of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, FMVZ / UNESP - Botucatu. The data obtained here may contribute to the planning of measures to control this disease, thus preventing new cases of this zoonosis. (AU)