Clinical features, fungal load, coinfections, histological skin changes, and itraconazole treatment response of cats with sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis

SOUZA, Elaine Waite de et al. Clinical features, fungal load, coinfections, histological skin changes, and itraconazole treatment response of cats with sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis. Scientific Reports, v. 8, p. 1-10, 2018.Submitted by Rodrigo Menezes ([email protected]) on 2018-07-15T23:56:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_et_al-2018-Scientific_Reports.pdf: 1890404 bytes, checksum: d0fc4182b13d4a922bcba16273624d7e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Dinelis ([email protected]) on 2018-07-30T18:13:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_et_al-2018-Scientific_Reports.pdf: 1890404 bytes, checksum: d0fc4182b13d4a922bcba16273624d7e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-30T18:13:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_et_al-2018-Scientific_Reports.pdf: 1890404 bytes, checksum: d0fc4182b13d4a922bcba16273624d7e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.School of Veterinary Medicine. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Los Angeles, USA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Zoonotic sporotrichosis caused by the fungus Sporothrix brasiliensis is usually severe in cats. This study investigated the associations between clinical features, fungal load, coinfections, histological skin changes, and response to itraconazole in cats with sporotrichosis caused by S. brasiliensis. Fifty-two cats with skin lesions and a definitive diagnosis of sporotrichosis were treated with itraconazole for a maximum period of 36 weeks. The animals were submitted to clinical examination and two subsequent collections of samples from the same skin lesion for fungal diagnosis and histopathology, as well as serology for feline immunodeficiency (FIV) and leukaemia (FeLV) viruses. Thirty-seven (71%) cats were clinically cured. Nasal mucosa lesions and respiratory signs were associated with treatment failure. Cats coinfected with FIV/FeLV (n = 12) had a lower neutrophil count in the lesion. A high fungal load in skin lesions was linked to young age and treatment failure, as well as to a longer time of wound healing, poorly formed granulomas and fewer neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes in these lesions. These results indicate that itraconazole is effective, but nasal mucosal involvement, respiratory signs and high fungal loads in skin lesions are predictors of treatment failure that will assist in the development of better treatment protocols for cats