Feline sino-orbital fungal infection caused by aspergillus and scopulariopsis

Background: Deep fungal infections of the orbit and nasal passages causing rhinitis and ulcerative keratomycosis are uncommonly reported in cats. Hyalohyphomycetes and phaeohyphomycetes have rarely been associated with this disorder. Sino-orbital fungal diseases are emerging and more invasive than sino-nasal fungal diseases with poor response to therapy and a worse prognosis. Brachycephalic feline breeds seem to be at increased risk for development of upper respiratory fungal diseases. Diagnosis is based on the demonstration of fungal hyphae by cytology or histology and definitive confirmation by fungal culture and molecular methods. This is the first case report of a cat with clinical mixed fungal ball with Aspergillus and Scopulariopsis in Brazil. Case: A 3-year-old male Persian cat, in São José city, Santa Catarina, Brazil, was presented with exophthalmos and corneal ulcer of the left eye and protrusion, hyperemia, quemosis and fibroses of the left third eyelid. The retropulsion of the globe was negative in this eyeball and a presumptive diagnosis of a retrobulbar mass was made. The patient underwent a surgical procedure for inspection and collection of samples for bacterial and mycological culture. Culture revealed no bacterial growth, however, unique and abundant growth of Aspergillus spp. was present. A subconjunctival enucleation of the left eye was made and the mass was sent for histopathology examination. Histology showed inflammatory proliferative necrotizing pyogranulomatous reaction; with the presence of severe fungal infection evidenced by large number of hyaline septated regular and irregular mold hyphae. Molecular identification was performed using panfungal primers (ITS3-F / ITS4-R). Patient was treated with systemic itraconazole associated with amphotericin B and topical clotrimazole. A mass started to grow rapidly in the left pterygopalatine fossa and was surgically removed, but recurrence occurred seven days after. After 22 days of treatment, the animal died suddenly with a history of acute inspiratory dyspnea and cyanosis at the time prior to death. The diagnosis of sino-orbital fungal disease in the feline was based on clinical signs, mycological culture, histopathology and molecular methods. Discussion: Sino-orbital fungal diseases rare in cats and can result in significant injuries to the upper respiratory tract and eyes, sometimes resulting in enucleation and death. It seems feasible that a brachycephalic facial conformation may be an important risk factor for the development of sino-nasal fungal diseases in cats. Despite using selected drugs and eye enucleation to treat the disease, the cat developed a rapid growing oral mass that probably caused acute inspiratory dyspnea and death. Since no controlled studies exist on the treatment of feline fungal diseases, these cases are a challenge to the feline practitioner and this type of clinical manifestation should be included in the differential diagnosis of upper respiratory and ocular diseases

Rhizopus microsporus segmental enteritis in a cow

A ten year-old Holstein cow had an intermittent bloody diarrhea, evolving to anorexia and recumbency, followed by death. Mycotic segmental enteritis was diagnosed based on the pathological and immunohistochemical findings. Rhizopus microsporus was identified as the causal agent through fungal culture and PCR analysis. Intestinal mucormycosis is poorly described in cattle and should, therefore, be included as a differential diagnosis in cases of diarrhea and death in ruminants, especially when there is disruption of the normal balance of the alimentary microbiota.This study was funded by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phylogenetic analysis of Pneumocystis from pig lungs obtained from slaughterhouses in southern and midwestern regions of Brazil

The Pneumocystis genus is comprised of pathogens dwelling in the lungs of terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic mammals. Occasionally they induce severe pneumonitis, particularly in hosts with severe impairment of the immune system and progressively may fill pulmonary alveolar cavities causing respiratory failure. Molecular genetic studies revealed that Pneumocystis gene sequences present a marked divergence with the host species concerned. In the present study, the genetic diversity of Pneumocystis obtained from lungs of swines was examined by analyzing mitochondrial large subunit (mtLSU) and small subunit (mtSSU) rRNA sequences. The samples were obtained from two slaughterhouses located in two Brazilian states. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that genetic groupings within Pneumocystis organisms were in accordance with those of the corresponding hosts and that two clusters were formed. In conclusion, these data show that there are genetically distinct porcine Pneumocystis genotypes with at least two separate clusters in Brazil

Antifungal susceptibility profile of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from avian lungs

ABSTRACT: Susceptibility testing is essential to inform the correct management of Aspergillus infections. In this study we present antifungal susceptibility profile of A. fumigatus isolates recovered from lungs of birds with and without aspergillosis. Fifty three isolates were tested for their antifungal susceptibility to voriconazole (VRC), itraconazole (ITZ), amphotericin (AMB) and caspofungin (CSP) using the M38-A2 broth microdilution reference method. Five isolates were resistant to more than one antifungal drug (CSP + AMB, VRC + ITZ and AMB + ITZ). Fifteen (28%) isolates with susceptible increased exposure (I) to ITZ were sensible to VRC. Resistance to AMB (>2μg/mL) was observed in only four isolates. Eleven (21%) A. fumigatus present resistance to ITZ (13%) and VRC (8%). Fungal isolation from respiratory samples has been regarded as being of limited usefulness in the ante mortem diagnosis of aspergillosis in birds. However, the results suggest that the detection and antifungal susceptibility profile may be helpful for monitoring of therapy for avian species and where antifungal resistance might be emerging and what conditions are associated to the event

Detection of Pneumocystis spp. in lung samples from pigs in Brazil

International audienceThe genus Pneumocystis is composed of opportunistic fungi currently considered as specific pulmonary pathogens in humans and other mammals. In pigs, Pneumocystis pneumonia ( PcP) could create significant economical losses due to its detrimental effects on growth, food conversion, and carcass/ viscera condemnation. This study revealed that Pneumocystis organisms could be detected by Grocott's staining or immunohistochemistry in 36.9% of 564 slaughtered pigs from two geographic regions of Brazil. The prevalence of positive cases was 39.9% and 33.9% in pigs slaughtered in Rio Grande do Sul ( RS) and Mato Grosso ( MT) states, respectively. Among the positive cases in RS, Pneumocystis organisms were observed in 41.9% of 33 histologically normal lungs, and in 58.0% of lungs presenting with histological lesions. In contrast, the prevalence in MT in normal and abnormal lungs was 36.3% and 63.5%, respectively. Major histopathological findings in lungs of infected animals were bronchointerstitial pneumonia ( 47.6%), suggestive of enzootic pneumonia, and interstitial pneumonia ( 37.9%), compatible with PcP. The results of this survey strengthened the interest of detecting fungal pathogens, in addition to other infectious agents, and evaluating their financial impact on Brazilian pig industry. Preventive and/ or therapeutic strategies should be developed in order to minimize the incidence of respiratory fungal infections in pigs and associated economic losses