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It's a skin infection caused by bacteria. It's related to mold or yeast. It's found on plants, and therefore, the people most exposed are gardeners, farmers, etc. Development ranges from days to months.

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Sporotrichosis Overview

Sporotrichosis is an infection of the skin caused by a fungus, Sporothrix schenckii. This fungus is related more closely to the mold on stale bread or the yeast used to brew beer than to bacteria that usually cause infections. The mold is found on rose thorns, hay, sphagnum moss, twigs, and soil. The infection is more common among gardeners, nursery workers, and farmers who work with roses, moss, hay, and soil.

Once the mold spores move into the skin, the disease takes days or even months to develop.

When to Seek Medical Care for Sporotrichosis
When to call the doctor

If you think you might have sporotrichosis, see a doctor about diagnosis and treatment.

If you are already being treated for sporotrichosis, contact a doctor if new sores develop or if the old ones appear to be growing.

Follow-up Care for Sporotrichosis

Multiple follow-up visits may be needed with a doctor to make sure sporotrichosis is disappearing. Once the disease goes away, further follow-up care is generally not needed.

Sporotrichosis Prevention

The most important step in preventing sporotrichosis is preventing mold spores from entering the skin.

People who work with roses, hay, or sphagnum moss should cover any scratches or breaks in their skin. They should also wear heavy boots and gloves to prevent puncture wounds.

Outlook for Sporotrichosis

Most people who have sporotrichosis only in their skin or lymph nodes make a full recovery.

Treating a sporotrichosis infection may take several months or years, and scars may remain at the site of the original infection.

Infections involving the brain, lungs, joints, or other areas of the body are much more difficult to treat.

When to go to the hospital

Sporotrichosis in the skin or lymph nodes should not be dangerous or life threatening.

Open ulcers can become infected with bacteria and may cause a condition known as cellulitis.

If a rapidly expanding area of redness, pain, and warmth around the original ulcers develops, you should go to your local emergency room.

Exams and Tests for Sporotrichosis

Other infections can mimic sporotrichosis, so a doctor performs tests to confirm the diagnosis. The tests for sporotrichosis usually involve a biopsy of one of the nodules, followed by an exam of the biopsy sample under a microscope to identify the mold. Other possible infections might include:

Sporotrichosis Care at Home

No effective home care for sporotrichosis is known. Ulcers should be kept clean and covered until they are healed.

Medical Treatment for Sporotrichosis

Treatment of sporotrichosis depends on the site infected.

Infections in the skin only: These sporotrichosis infections have traditionally been treated with a supersaturated potassium iodide solution. This medicine is given three times per day for three to six months until all the lesions have gone away. Skin infections may also be treated with itraconazole (Sporanox) for up to six months. Also, heat therapy (pocket warmer for one- two hours daily) creates higher tissue temperature to inhibit fungus growth, allowing the immune system to fight the fungus.

Sporotrichosis infection in the bones and joints: These infections are much more difficult to treat and rarely respond to potassium iodide. Itraconazole (Sporanox) is often used as an initial medication for several months or even up to a year. Amphotericin is also used, but this drug can only be given through an IV. Amphotericin has more side effects and may need to be administered for many months. Surgery is sometimes needed to remove infected bone.

Infection in the lungs: Lung infections are treated with amphotericin,itraconazole (Sporanox), and potassium iodide with varying amounts of success. Sometimes, the infected areas of the lung have to be removed.

Infection in the brain: Sporotrichosis meningitis is rare, so information on treatment is not readily available. Amphotericin plus 5-fluorocytosine is generally recommended, but itraconazole (Sporanox) might also be tried.

Causes of Sporotrichosis

Sporotrichosis usually begins when mold spores are forced under the skin by a rose thorn or sharp stick, although the infection can begin in apparently unbroken skin after contact with hay or moss carrying the mold.

More rarely, cats or armadillos can transmit the disease.

In rare cases, the fungus can be inhaled or ingested, causing infection in parts of the body other than the skin.

Sporotrichosis does not appear to be transmitted from person to person.

Symptoms of Sporotrichosis

The first symptom of sporotrichosis is a firm bump (nodule) on the skin that can range in color from pink to nearly purple. The nodule is usually painless or only mildly tender. Over time, the nodule may develop an open sore (ulcer) that may drain clear fluid. Untreated, the nodule and the ulcer become chronic and may remain unchanged for years.

In about 60% of cases, the mold spreads along the lymph nodes. Over time, new nodules and ulcers spread in a line up the infected arm or leg. These can also last for years.

In very rare cases, the infection can spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, joints, lungs, and brain. This is more common among those with a weakened immune system. It can be difficult to treat and may be life threatening.

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Sporotrichosis is an infection of the skin caused by a fungus, Sporothrix schenckii. This fungus is related more closely to the mold on stale bread or the yeast used to brew beer than to bacteria that usually cause infections. The mold is found on rose thorns, hay, sphagnum moss, twigs, and soil.

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What is sporotrichosis?

Sporotrichosis (also known as "rose gardener's disease") is an infection caused by a fungus called Sporothrix. This fungus lives throughout the world in soil and on plant matter such as sphagnum moss, rose bushes, and hay.¹,2 People get sporotrichosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment. Cutaneous (skin) infection is the most common form of the infection. It occurs when the fungus enters the skin through a small cut or scrape, usually after someone touches contaminated plant matter. Skin on the hands or arms is most commonly affected.

Types of sporotrichosis

Cutaneous (skin) sporotrichosis is the most common form of the infection. It usually occurs on a person's hand or the arm after touching contaminated plant matter.

Pulmonary (lung) sporotrichosis is rare but can happen after someone breathes in fungal spores from the environment.

Disseminated sporotrichosis occurs when the infection spreads to another part of the body, such as bones, joints, or central nervous system. This form of sporotrichosis usually affects people with health problems or who take medicines that lower the body's ability to fight germs and sickness, such as people living with HIV (see Risk & Prevention).

Sporotrichosis has been caused by scratches or bites from animals, particularly cats. Learn more about Sporothrix brasiliensis, a fungus that cats are spreading in Brazil and other areas of South America.

Symptoms

The symptoms of sporotrichosis depend on where the fungus is growing in the body. Contact your healthcare provider if you have symptoms that you think are related to sporotrichosis.

Sporotrichosis usually affects the skin or tissues underneath the skin. The first symptom of cutaneous (skin) sporotrichosis is usually a small, painless bump that can develop any time from 1 to 12 weeks after exposure to the fungus. The bump can be red, pink, or purple, and usually appears on the finger, hand, or arm where the fungus has entered through a break in the skin. The bump will eventually grow larger and may look like an open sore or ulcer that is very slow to heal. Additional bumps or sores may appear later near the original one.

Pulmonary (lung) sporotrichosis is rare. Symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and fever.

Symptoms of disseminated sporotrichosis depend on the body part affected. For example, infection of the joints can cause joint pain that may be confused with rheumatoid arthritis. Infections of the central nervous system can involve difficulty thinking, headache, and seizures.

Risk & Prevention

Who gets sporotrichosis?

People who touch plant matter such as sphagnum moss, rose bushes, or hay are more likely to become infected. For example, sporotrichosis outbreaks have occurred among forestry workers, people who work in tree nurseries and garden centers, and people who handle hay bales.

The severe forms of sporotrichosis (those that affect the lungs, bones or joints, or central nervous system) usually affect people with weakened immune systems or other diseases including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), alcoholism, or HIV.¹,3,4

How can I lower the chance of developing sporotrichosis?

You can lower the chance of getting sporotrichosis by wearing protective clothing such as gloves and long sleeves when touching plant matter that can cause minor cuts or scrapes.

In Brazil, people have gotten sporotrichosis from contact with cats. This form of sporotrichosis ( Sporothrix brasiliensis) has not been found in the United States. Be careful with unfamiliar animals, particularly cats. Cat bites and scratches can spread the fungus that causes sporotrichosis, and other diseases. This fungus is most often spread by stray cats and pet cats that are allowed outdoors. Learn more about sporotrichosis from cats.

Where Sporotrichosis Comes From

Sporotrichosis is often linked to sphagnum moss, rose bushes, hay, or animal scratches or bites.

The fungus that causes sporotrichosis lives in the environment.
Sporothrix, the fungus that causes sporotrichosis, lives in the environment in soil and on plant matter such as sphagnum moss, rose bushes, hay, or wood. The microscopic fungus can enter the skin through small cuts or scrapes. In rare cases, breathing in the fungus can cause a pulmonary (lung) infection. The type of sporotrichosis found in North America is not contagious and can't spread from person to person. However, in South America, a type of sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis spreads through scratches or bites from animals, particularly cats. (This fungal illness is not cat-scratch disease, a bacterial illness spread by cats - which occurs worldwide, wherever cats live.)

Diagnosis & Testing

Your healthcare provider will take a small tissue sample (biopsy) of the infected area of the body for laboratory tests. The laboratory will usually perform a fungal culture to find out what is causing the infection. Blood tests can help diagnose severe sporotrichosis, but usually can't diagnose skin infections.

Treatment

Most cases of sporotrichosis only involve the skin or the tissues underneath the skin. These infections are not life-threatening, but must be treated with prescription antifungal medicine for several months. The most common treatment for this type of sporotrichosis is itraconazole, taken by mouth for 3 to 6 months. Supersaturated potassium iodide (SSKI) is another treatment option for skin sporotrichosis. SSKI and azole drugs like itraconazole should not be used if you are pregnant.

If you have severe sporotrichosis that affects your lungs, bones, joints, or central nervous system, you'll probably receive intravenous amphotericin B medicine, which is given through a vein. After the first treatment with amphotericin B, you may receive itraconazole by mouth, for a total of at least 1 year of antifungal treatment. People with sporotrichosis in the lungs may also need surgery to cut away the infected tissue.

Healthcare providers: For detailed treatment guidelines, please refer to the Infectious Diseases Society of America's Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Sporotrichosisexternal icon .

Statistics

Diagnosed sporotrichosis is rare, but the number of cases is difficult to determine because there is no national surveillance for it in the United States. Population-based incidence estimates for sporotrichosis were obtained from laboratory surveillance in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1992-1993 and suggested a yearly rate of less than one case per 1 million population.⁵ However, more mild infections may not be diagnosed. Sporotrichosis may be more common in other parts of the world, such as Latin America.² For example, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 2,200 cases were reported during 1998-2009.⁶ Another study suggested a rate of 48 to 60 sporotrichosis cases per 100,000 population in the south central highlands of Peru.⁷

Sporotrichosis outbreaks

In the United States, sporotrichosis outbreaks have occurred among people who touched sphagnum moss or hay, such as forestry workers,8,9 tree nursery and garden center workers,10-12 and people who worked with or played on hay bales.13-16 Sporotrichosis outbreaks also have been reported in several other countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, Guatemala, and South Africa.2 Healthcare providers who are concerned about an unusual number of new cases should contact their state or local public health agency.

An ongoing outbreak of sporotrichosis is occurring in some cities in Brazil, where the infection has become common in outdoor cats and can spread to humans through bites or scratches. Learn more about this problem.

MMWR Articles:

Related Links

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Sporotrichosis is a rare infection caused by a fungus called Sporothrix. This fungus lives throughout the world in soil and on plant matter such as sphagnum moss, rose bushes, and hay.

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Sporothrix

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-Bumps on skin that transform into a open sores/ulcers

Less common:
-cough, shortness of breath, fever, chest pain
-Symptoms vary depending on part of body affected

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-Biopsy of affected area, which is then used in a fungal culture
-Blood tests can be used, but not when the skin is affected

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Manoel Marques Evangelista,
Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas

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Skin/tissue: Antifungal medicine

For severe internal sporotrichosis: intravenous amphotericin B medicine, surgery (rare)

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Fig. 3. Neighbor-joining phylogram of the partial β-tub (A) and partial CAL (B) gene obtained of INSA378027 isolate and S. mexicana, S. albicans, S. brasiliensis, S. schenckii, and S. globosa reference strains constructed with MEGA version 4.0.2. Bootstrap values after 1000 replicates are presented in the branch node. (C) Comparison of the T3B PCR fingerprinting profiles obtained for INSA378027 isolate with the Sporothrix reference strains: (1) S. globosa (IPEC 27135), (2) S. mexicana (MUM 11.02), (3) S. brasiliensis (IPEC 16490), (4) S. schenckii (IPEC27722), (5) negative control and (M)
Molecular marker DNA ladder, 100 bp (Invitrogen).

First case of Sporotrichosis in Portugal, Seems to be spreading

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Sporotrichosis by Prof Alexandro Bonifaz, Hospital General de Mexico

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https://drsampurnaroy.wordpress.com/2017/05/20/what-is-rose-gardners-disease/