A Flesh-Eating Fungus Spreading from Cats to Humans Has Been Detected, and It's Expanding Fast
The Daily Galaxy • • health
Key Points:
- Veterinary clinics in southeastern Uruguay observed a pattern of persistent skin wounds in cats and humans, linked to the fungus Sporothrix brasiliensis, which spreads efficiently from infected cats to people through scratches or bites.
- Researchers at Universidad de la República identified S. brasiliensis as the causative agent, noting its thermodimorphic nature allows it to survive and thrive both in the environment and within mammalian hosts, causing severe lesions especially in cats.
- Unlike earlier sporotrichosis cases in Uruguay associated with armadillo scratches during hunting, the current outbreak involves widespread transmission via domestic cats, complicating containment due to cats’ roaming and social behaviors.
- Regional studies, including recent cases in Buenos Aires, Argentina, indicate that S. brasiliensis is an emerging, highly virulent pathogen spreading across borders through cat populations, highlighting a growing zoonotic public health concern in Latin America.
.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26fit%3Dcrop%26enable%3Dupscale%26auto%3Dwebp?format=webp&w=120&h=80)
