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CASE REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. One Health

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1573924

This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: Understanding and Mitigating Risks at Animal-Human Interfaces View all 7 articles

Severe Ulcerative Dermatitis Leading to Sepsis in a Cat with Sporotrichosis by Sporothrix brasiliensis

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Andres Bello University, Santiago, Chile
  • 2 Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis is an emerging zoonotic mycosis of great clinical relevance in South America. This case highlights its severe systemic presentation, reported for the first time in a feline patient from Chile. A 1-year-old neutered male cat presented with severe ulcerative dermatitis, developing a dysoxic phenotype of sepsis. Diagnosis was made by cytology, histopathology, fungal culture, and polymerase chain reaction, confirming S. brasiliensis as the pathogen. Treatment included itraconazole associated with potassium iodide. Despite aggressive antifungal therapy and intensive care, based on fluid resuscitation, optimization of analgesia, and administration of vasoactive drugs, the cat developed refractory hypotension and persistent hyperlactatemia, which ultimately led to euthanasia. This report highlights the high pathogenic potential of S. brasiliensis to cause severe systemic disease, even in hosts negative to retroviral infections, and emphasizes the importance of promoting responsible animal management practices to prevent the spread of this infectious agent.

    Keywords: Sporothrix brasiliensis, systemic sporotrichosis, feline sepsis, Zoonotic, Mycoses

    Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 27 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Cartes, Thomson, Gonzalez, Santos, Díaz, Puyol and López. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Pamela Thomson, Andres Bello University, Santiago, Chile

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