Incidência e perfil epidemiológico da esporotricose em gatos no Município de Vila Velha: análise dos registros da Unidade de Vigilância de Zoonoses (2023-2025)

Abstract

Feline sporotrichosis constitutes an emerging public health concern, particularly in urban contexts with high cat population density. This quantitative, descriptive, and retrospective study analyzed the incidence and the clinical-epidemiological profile of feline sporotrichosis in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo State, Brazil, between January 2023 and July 2025, based on records from the Municipal Zoonosis Surveillance Unit (UVZ) and the E-SUS Platform. During the study period, 1,205 cases were reported (2023: 452; 2024: 405; 2025 Jan–Jul: 348), representing a 10.4% decrease between 2023 and 2024. Institutional sheltering increased from 44 to 180 cats, raising the proportion of sheltered animals from 9.7% to 44.4% of annual cases. The case fatality rate decreased from 21.7% (98/452) in 2023 to 11.1% (45/405) in 2024, while treatment dropouts declined from 12.4% to 9.4% (56→38). In 2025, up to July, 348 cases were recorded, with 51 animals sheltered and 198 treatments completed, and no deaths or dropouts registered at the time of analysis. The disease showed wide territorial distribution (81 out of 92 neighborhoods) and high exposure to contact animals (80.4% of cases with this information). Among 106 medical records with diagnostic methods specified, 49.1% were confirmed by cytology, 50.0% by histopathology, and 0.9% by fungal culture; 94.3% of diagnoses were performed at the UVZ. Treatment consisted mainly of itraconazole (100 mg/animal every 24 h), with potassium iodide used in selected cases. The findings indicate a recent improvement in case management, including increased sheltering, higher cure rates, and reduced fatality and dropout rates and highlight the need for intersectoral One Health policies, emphasizing health education, feline population control, and strengthening of surveillance systems.