title: Sporotrichosis with widespread cutaneous lesions: report of 24 cases related to transmission by domestic cats in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sporotrichosis most commonly presents as a localized lymphocutaneous infection following traumatic inoculation of soil, vegetables or organic substrates contaminated with the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii. Cases of widespread cutaneous lesions are rare. There have been isolated reports of household outbreaks of sporotrichosis involving cats and humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report 24 cases of culture-proven sporotrichosis presenting with widespread cutaneous lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These 24 cases are part of an epidemic currently occurring in Rio de Janeiro. All patients reported contact with cats with sporotrichosis and 17 reported a history of a scratch or bite. Clinical manifestations included fixed lesions at multiple anatomical sites, and fixed lesions associated with the lymphocutaneous, bilateral lymphocutaneous and mucosal forms of the disease. Two patients were alcoholics and one patient was diabetic, while the remaining patients did not present any immunosuppressing condition. All patients responded to treatment with itraconazole.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The domestic cat has played an important role in the transmission of sporotrichosis in Rio de Janeiro and seems to have contributed to this unusual clinical manifestation.
authors.affiliation: Serviço Médico, Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. mblb@unisys.com.br
authors.forename: Mônica Bastos
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: de Lima Barros
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Schubach
authors.forename: Maria Clara Gutierrez
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Galhardo
authors.forename: Tânia Maria Pacheco
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Schubach
authors.forename: Rosani Santos
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: dos Reis
authors.forename: Maria José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Conceição
authors.forename: Antônio Carlos Francesconi
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: do Valle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013175:Sporothrix / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013174:Sporotrichosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission*; D015047:Zoonoses