Pesquisa de sporothrix spp. no solo de bairros com ocorrência de esporotricose felina no Município de João Pessoa

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis caused by fungal agents belonging to the genus Sporothrix. It affects several species of domestic and wild animals, as well as humans, a fact that characterizes the disease as a zoonosis, with cats being the main urban reservoir. The increase in cases in urban locations has caused a public health problem with several reports, both in humans and domestic animals, especially felines. Transmission occurs through the zoonotic and geophilic forms, being present in soil and vegetation. Sporotrichosis is a zoonosis of great importance to public health, due to the various disorders it causes in animals and humans, but it is widely neglected. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Sporothrix spp. in the soil of areas with the highest frequency of feline sporotrichosis in the municipality of João Pessoa. A total of 50 soil samples were collected from areas close to homes with positive cases. These samples were processed by diluting them in saline solution containing streptomycin 1mg/ml and penicillin 5000 IU/ml, using only the 10-3 dilution for direct plating. Sabouraud dextrose agar plates containing chloramphenicol were used and incubated at 25ºC, monitored daily. Samples with morphological characteristics compatible with Sporothrix were isolated on plates containing Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol and, after growth, were evaluated microscopically and the slide stained with dimethylene blue. Laminocultivation was also carried out on samples suggestive of Sporothrix spp., using potato agar to grow the fungus and dimethylene blue for microscopic visualization. The other fungi were repotted and transferred from the mother plate with Sabouraud agar medium with chloramphenicol to plates with malt culture medium, thus facilitating sporulation, where they were identified and quantified based on the morphological characteristics of the reproductive structures using specialized literature. Nine species of environmental fungi were found, the main ones being Cladosporium, Syncephalastrum and Curvularia, the latter being an opportunistic pathogen, causing various health problems in animals, humans and plants. The presence of Sporothrix spp. was not identified in the samples collected, which does not rule out the role of the environment in the infectious process that occurs between soil, animal and human. As this is a disease with zoonotic potential, it is important for veterinarians, epidemiologists and biologists to contribute to the implementation of control and prophylaxis measures for the population, and it is necessary to seek solutions based on the pillars of single health.