Sporotrichosis

[Ernesto]

Sporotrichosis is infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii.

The infection develops when the fungi enter the body through small cuts and scrapes in the skin.
Usually, the skin and nearby lymph nodes are infected, resulting in bumps on the skin and swollen lymph nodes.
Rarely, the lungs, joints, or other parts of the body are infected.
Diagnosis requires culture and identification of the fungus in a sample of infected tissue.
Itraconazole is used to treat most infections, but amphotericin B is required for bodywide infections.

(See also Overview of Fungal Infections.)
Sporothrix fungi typically grow on rose bushes, barberry bushes, sphagnum moss, and other mulches. In contrast to many other fungal infections, Sporothrix fungi enter the body through small cuts and scrapes in the skin. Most often, farmers, gardeners, horticulturists, and timber workers are infected.
Sporotrichosis affects mainly the skin and nearby lymphatic vessels.
Very rarely, a lung infection occurs after spores are inhaled.
Also very rarely, bones, joints, or the brain and spinal cord are infected, usually in people with a weakened immune system, such as those with AIDS.

[Tanya Shivari]

A chronic fungal infection producing nodules and ulcers in the lymph nodes and skin.