Sporotrichosis
Sporotrichosis is infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii.
Sporothrix typically grows on rosebushes, barberry bushes, sphagnum moss, and other mulches. Most often, farmers, gardeners, and horticulturists are infected, usually from a small puncture wound.
Sporotrichosis mainly affects the skin and nearby lymphatic vessels. Very rarely, the bones, joints, lungs, or other tissues are infected.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
An infection of the skin typically starts on a finger as a small, nontender bump (nodule) that slowly enlarges and forms a sore. Over the next several days or weeks, the infection spreads through the lymphatic vessels of the finger, hand, and arm to the lymph nodes, forming nodules and sores along the way. Even at this stage, there is little or no pain. Usually, the person has no other symptoms.
An infection in the lungs may cause pneumonia, with a slight chest pain and cough. Lung infection usually occurs in people who have another lung disease, such as emphysema. Joint infection produces swelling and makes movement painful. Rarely, an infection develops in other areas.
The characteristic nodules and sores may lead a doctor to suspect sporotrichosis. The diagnosis is confirmed by culturing and identifying Sporothrix in samples of infected tissue.
Prognosis and Treatment
Sporotrichosis that affects the skin usually spreads very slowly and is seldom fatal. The skin infection is treated with oral itraconazole. Oral potassium iodide may be prescribed instead, but it is not as effective and causes side effects (such as a rash; runny nose; and inflammation of the eyes, mouth, and throat) in most people. Lung and bone infection may also be treated with itraconazole. For life-threatening, bodywide infection, amphotericin B is given intravenously.
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