Occurrence of the fungus Sporothrix spp. in the claws of forelimbs of wild animals

• Grant number: 17/21413-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): January 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Sandra de Moraes Gimenes Bosco
• Grantee: Flora Nogueira Matos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a disease that mainly affects the cutaneous and subcutaneous regions of the tissue and is caused by the fungi of the genus Sporothrix spp.. Regarding the distribution, this mycosis has a higher prevalence in tropical and subtropical countries, being endemic in Brazil. This was also the scene of the largest epidemic outbreak involving humans and cats in the early 20th century, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Besides being transmitted by traumas with plant material, it has high zoonotic potential and can be transmitted by animals through bites or scratches. It is generally associated with domestic felines, but has also been reported in other domestic and wild species. However, even though it is related to the hunting of armadillos and natural environments, there are few studies that isolate the fungus in free-living animals. The present study aims to evaluate, through swabs of the claws of the forelimbs, of about 50 to 100 wild animals attended at the Center of Medicine and Research in Wild Animals (CEMPAS) / UNESP - Botucatu and of wild animals killed or not by trampling, in the highways that cut the region of Botucatu in order to verify the occurrence of the fungus Sporothrix spp. (AU)