Risk factors, incidence and clinical aspects of sporotrichosis in dogs and cats in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ

Abstract

The sporotrichosis is an endemic disease with cosmopolitan distribution, caused by the fungi Sporothrix schenckii complex, which affects animals and humans. In Brazil, sporotrichosis is an emerging zoonosis, recently included in the National List of Compulsory Notification of diseases, injuries and events in public health issued by the Ministry of Health. The present study aimed to analyze clinical and epidemiological aspects of sporotrichosis in cats and dogs in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ. For this study, 805 animal patients with suspected lesions of sporotrichosis were included, i.e., 749 cats and 56 dogs, and they were attended at the Veterinary Hospital/Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF). The results showed that 76.37% of the cats were positive for sporotrichosis, with a higher proportion of males. Regarding the dogs, 41.07% were positive for the disease, and among these animals, 45.45% of the females and 34.78% of the males were positive for sporotrichosis. It was observed that 77.40% of the cats could roam freely in the peridomestic area and 72.20% were not neutered. The results showed that both cats and dogs that were not neutered and could roam freely in the peridomestic area were more susceptible to be affected by sporotrichosis.