Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting Sporothrix fungal infection in cats using brushings
By Gonsales, Fernanda F et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2019·Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline Sporothrix spp. detection using cell blocks from brushings and fine-needle aspirates: Performance and comparisons with culture and histopathology.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 40 cats in Brazil with skin lesions suspected to be sporotrichosis (a fungal infection) were tested using a new method called cell block cytology, along with traditional culture and skin biopsies. The cell block cytology method showed a high success rate, detecting the infection in 97.5% of cases, while the culture method was slightly lower at 95%. All skin biopsies confirmed the presence of the fungus. This new diagnostic technique could help veterinarians quickly identify sporotrichosis, especially during outbreaks, allowing for faster treatment and better public health responses.
People also search for: cat skin lesions sporotrichosis · how to diagnose cat fungal infection · treatment for cat sporotrichosis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sporotrichosis is an emerging zoonotic mycosis that presents as a cutaneous lymphatic or disseminated disease, caused by fungi from the Sporothrix schenkii (S schenkii) clinical clade. Its importance is growing, primarily due to an outbreak that occurred in Brazil, affecting mainly cats and people. OBJECTIVES: In Brazil, an S schenkii diagnosis is often made using cultures, which allows genus identification and sufficient growth to perform molecular biology testing. Despite its advantages, fungal cultures are slow to develop and can delay public health measures, highlighting the importance of developing additional diagnostics techniques. METHODS: Cell block cytology (CBLC) is an older method that regained importance after liquid-based cytology (LBC) was introduced, and it has been previously and successfully applied to veterinary diagnostics. We aimed to standardize and compare CBLC from cervical brush exfoliation of open wounds and fine-needle aspirates with culture and immunohistochemistry of skin biopsies for sporotrichosis in cats, as a novel method. RESULTS: For this purpose, we selected 40 cats with skin lesions suspected of having sporotrichosis in Guarulhos city, São Paulo state, Brazil. We achieved 97.5% and 95% positivity using CBLC and culture, respectively, and 100% of feline skin biopsies were positive for Sporothrix spp on histopathology/immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: Cell block cytology is an efficient and rapid tool to diagnose sporotrichosis in cats, particularly during epidemics.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30861158/