Feline sporotrichosis and differential diagnosis in cryptococcosis: Case report

This paper described a case of feline sporotrichosis, characterized as zoonotic subcutaneous mycosis, caused by the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix brasiliensis, with the species Sporothrix schenckii being the most common. This report demonstrates the clinical pathology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, addressing a possible differential diagnosis of the disease in comparison with cutaneous cryptococcosis, known since 1905, for being a serious disease, caused by cryptococcus neoformans, of extreme importance since the nervous system is involved in almost 90% of cases. Both fungal infections present a considerable level of similarity and deserve attention in their differential diagnosis. The gold standard test for differentiation would be fungal culture, as the cytology test performed is not very conclusive for the morphological differentiation between the two fungi. However, with the anamnesis, history, clinical signs and positive response to the recommended treatment and in pharmacological association, it was confirmed that the patient had acquired a mycotic disease.