Newsfeed display by CaRP Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection, usually of the skin, caused by a microscopic fungus called Sporothrix schenckii.

Who gets sporotrichosis?
Anyone can get the disease but people handling thorny plants, sphagnum moss or baled hay contaminated with this particular fungus are at increased risk. Outbreaks have occurred among nursery workers handling sphagnum moss, rose gardeners, children playing on baled hay and greenhouse workers handling barberry thorns contaminated by the fungus.

How is the fungus spread?
The fungus can be found in sphagnum moss, in hay, in other plant materials, and in the soil. It enters the skin through small cuts or punctures from thorns, barbs, pine needles, or wires. Fortunately it is not spread from person to person.

What are the symptoms of sporotrichosis?
The first symptom is a small pink, red or purple painless bump resembling an insect bite.

The bump, or lesion, usually appears on the finger, hand or arm where the fungus first entered through a break in the skin. This is followed by the appearance of one or more additional raised bumps or nodules, which open and may resemble a boil. Eventually, the skin lesions look like ulcers and are very slow to heal. The infection can spread to other areas of the body.

Systemic sporotrichosis can cause lung and breathing problems, osteomyelitis, arthritis, and meningitis.

How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?
The skin lesions may appear one to 12 weeks after exposure but usually within three weeks.

Does sporotrichosis involve any other organs besides the skin?
The majority of infections are limited to the skin. Cases of joint, lung, and central nervous system infection have occurred but are very rare. Usually they occur only in persons with previous disorders of the immune system.

Sporotrichosis can be confirmed when a doctor obtains a swab of a freshly opened skin nodule and submits it to a laboratory for fungal culture. A blood or biopsy specimen can also verify the diagnosis. It is important for the diagnosis to be confirmed by a doctor so that proper treatment can be provided.

What is the treatment of sporotrichosis?
Sporotrichosis is generally treated with iodides taken orally in droplet form, which must be prescribed by a doctor. Treatment is often extended over a number of weeks.

What are the complications associated with sporotrichosis?
The vast majority of the infections are limited to the skin. Cases of joint, lung and central nervous system infection have occurred but are very rare and usually occur only in people with diabetes or other disorders of the immune system.

How can sporotrichosis be prevented?
Control measures include wearing gloves and long sleeves when handling pine seedlings, rose bushes, hay bales or other plants that may cause minor skin breaks. In addition, it may be prudent to use pine seedling packing materials other than sphagnum moss, which has been implicated, as a source of the fungus in a number of outbreaks.

The skin infection is usually treated with potassium iodide for example, SSKI given by mouth 3 times per day or itraconazole by mouth. Treatment is prolonged and continues 1 month after the skin lesions clear. Systemic or disseminated infection is often treated with Amphotericin B, or sometimes itraconazole.

Prognosis.
With treatment, full recovery can be expected. Disseminated sporotrichosis is more difficult to treat and requires chemotherapeutic agents. Disseminated sporotrichosis can be life-threatening for immunocompromised people.

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you develop persistent skin lumps or skin ulcers. If you know that you have been exposed to vegetation, mention this to your health care provider.