Sporothrix in cats: What to know about rare fungal infection

A cluster of rare fungal infections was found in two pet cats and a vet who treated them, the CDC reported. Here's what to know about sporotrichosis.

A cluster of rare fungal infections was found in two pet cats and a vet who treated them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday in a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. 

The three cases — in late 2022 and early 2023 — were caused by a fungus called Sporothrix schenckii. 

The CDC is monitoring the spread of a similar fungal infection, also in cats, in South America. That infection is spread by a related fungus, Sporothrix brasiliensis, which hasn’t been detected in the U.S.

Sporotrichosis — the illness caused by a Sporothrix infection — is rare in the U.S. but not unheard of. It’s generally picked up through contact with sharp plants that can pierce the skin like rose thorns, which is how it earned the moniker “rose gardener’s disease.” Sporotrichosis tends to cause a skin infection that’s very slow to heal, but it isn’t contagious, according to the CDC.

When cats are infected, however, they carry a very high fungal load, meaning their wounds have a higher risk of spreading the infection to other cats, dogs and people, said Ian Hennessee, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC and the lead author of the report.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/sporothrix-cats-know-rare-fungal-infection-rcna147268

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