Sporotrichosis

Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection that can cause large ulcers or thickened areas on your skin. You can get it when the fungus Sporothrix schenckii gets into your skin through a cut or wound. Rarely, it can also infect your lungs, brain, bones or joints.

Sporotrichosis (“spu-row-trick-OH-sis”) is also called rose gardener’s disease.

Types

The most common type of sporotrichosis is a skin infection. Other types include:

• Disseminated: This is when you have many, widespread sores or when the infection spreads to other organs. This usually only happens when you have a severely weakened immune system.
• Osteoarticular: This is an infection in your bones and joints.
• Pulmonary: This is an infection in your lungs from inhaling the fungus. This is most common in people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Symptoms of sporotrichosis

The most common symptom of sporotrichosis is an area of painless, infected skin. This might be:

• A single bump, sore or open wound
• A series of bumps, sores or open wounds in a line
• A raised, thickened area of skin
• Discolored (red, purple or darker than surrounding skin)
• Scaly or a different texture than surrounding skin
• Filled with pus

If you have an infection somewhere else in your body, you might have additional symptoms. These depend on where the infection is. They could include:

• Bone or joint pain
• Shortness of breath, cough, chest pain
• Headache, sensitivity to light, confusion

Sporotrichosis causes

The fungus Sporothrix schenckii causes sporotrichosis. It’s found on plants and in soil, including flowers, vegetables, sphagnum moss, rotting wood and straw. It exists in parts of the world with warm climates, like Asia, South America and Mexico. In the U.S., it’s mostly found in southern states.

The most common way to get sporotrichosis is from the fungus getting into scratches or puncture wounds in your skin (like from getting pricked by a thorn). This can happen while gardening or working with soil, plants, moss or rotting wood. Less common ways to get infected include:

• From the scratch of infected animals, especially cats
• By breathing it in

Risk factors

You’re at higher risk if you:

• Work with soil or plants (especially sphagnum moss or thorny plants), like gardening or landscaping
• Work with animals, like in a veterinary office
• Have a compromised immune system
• Have a condition that affects your lungs, like COPD

Complications

Sporotrichosis in your skin usually doesn’t cause complications. But you could get a secondary bacterial infection in an open wound, or the infection could leave a scar on your skin.

Infections in other parts of your body can cause more serious complications. These could include:

• Pneumonia
• Respiratory failure
• Inflammation in your brain or its lining (encephalitis or meningitis)

How doctors diagnose sporotrichosis

To diagnose sporotrichosis, a healthcare provider will first look at your skin. Let them know if you’ve been in contact with plants or soil, or if you’ve had any recent cuts or breaks in your skin. They may also take a sample of tissue from the affected area. They’ll send it to a lab to try growing (culturing) fungi from it.

You may need additional tests, especially if you have symptoms of an infection in other parts of your body.

How is sporotrichosis treated?

Healthcare providers treat sporotrichosis with antifungal medications. These could include:

• Itraconazole
• Terbinafine
• Amphotericin B (AmB)
• Potassium iodide

For skin infections, you’ll take medication for a few weeks after the infection has healed. This is to make sure that the fungus is completely gone. If you have pulmonary or disseminated sporotrichosis, you may need to take medications for several months or longer.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Talk to a healthcare provider if you have sores on your skin or other symptoms of sporotrichosis. Seek urgent medical attention if you develop a fever or have a wound that:

• Isn’t healing
• Is oozing puss or fluid
• Smells bad
• Is very painful or is getting more painful
• Has discoloration or redness that’s spreading

What’s the survival rate for sporotrichosis?

Most people with sporotrichosis that only affects their skin make a full recovery with treatment. You’ll need to take antifungals for several weeks.

Disseminated sporotrichosis — where the infection has spread throughout your body — is harder to treat. It has a mortality rate as high as 50% (up to half of people with it die from it).

Can sporotrichosis be prevented?

You can reduce your risk of sporotrichosis by wearing:

• Protective gloves when working with plants, soil and moss
• Protective gloves when working with animals that could be infected
• A respirator mask when working with plants, soil and moss if you have a compromised immune system or a condition that affects your lungs