In Great Britain, three people were affected by a rare disease, sporotrichosis, whose contaminating fungus had been transmitted by a cat.
- Three people were scratched by a cat and contracted a rare disease.
- This rare disease, sporotrichosis, had never been recorded in Great Britain.
- Usually it occurs in South America.
This is a first in Great Britain: three people have been infected with the fungus Sporotrichosis brasiliensis and therefore contracted a rare skin disease called sporotrichosis. This is manifested by a skin infection that can develop into abscesses and skin ulcers.
A rare disease caused by a cat scratch
The three individuals affected are a 63-year-old mother, her 30-year-old daughter and a veterinarian who were all scratched by the same cat. Scientists set out their case in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports.
After being scratched by their cat, the mother and daughter were therefore affected by sporotrichosis. For eight weeks, they had skin ulcers on the area where the cat had injured them. They were cured with a treatment aimed at combating fungal infectionsthat is to say those due to fungi.
The third infected person is the veterinarian who had been scratched while examining this same cat during an appointment. Four weeks later, he developed an ulcer and lesions on his arm. He too had the same treatment as the mother and her daughter.
A rare disease that mainly affects South America
The cat carrying the fungal infection died. He was nine years old and had been rescued by family in southeastern Brazil, where they were living at the time. They brought it with them to the UK when they moved. The researchers did not provide information on the breed of the cat.
Until now, sporotrichosis had never been observed outside of South America. Indeed, according to Centers for Disease Control and Preventionthe mushroom Sporotrichosis brasiliensis is responsible for increasing cases of disease in cats and humans in Brazil and parts of South America.
Between 1998 and 2016, more than 4,500 human cases of sporotrichosis caused by cats have been identified. There has also recently been a case in Argentina and Paraguay respectively.