Abstract
Sporothrix schenckii sensu lato is a complex of thermally dimorphic species whose natural habitats are soil and plant materials. However, the traumatic implantation of the species into human skin is traditionally thought to be the route leading to the fungal disease sporotrichosis. The complex contains Sporotrhix mexicana, S. globosa, S. brasiliensis, S. luriei, in addition to S. schenckii sensu stricto. In this study we evaluated the differences among these species relative to their frequency in the environment and in human hosts, as well as discuss their remarkable diverse pathogenicity. Today, S. brasiliensis is epidemic in and geographically restricted to Brazil. In contrast, S. mexicana and S. globosa have rarely been reported over the decades. We discovered that the species have been present in collections from clinical cases since 1955 and were able to re-identify six isolates originally classified as S. schenckii as Sporothrix mexicana (three isolates) and Sporothrix globosa (three isolates). Despite their long presence as potential human pathogens they have not shown any increase in frequency as etiologic agents of human infections.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr Josep Guarro and Dr Josepa Gené, from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut) in Reus, Spain, for supplying strains.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.
AMR is a fellow and acknowledges the financial support of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP - 2011/07350-1) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (BEX 2325/11-0). This work was supported in part by grants from FAPESP (2009/54024-2), CNPq, and CAPES.
This paper was first published online on Early Online on 21 September 2012.