Sporotrichosis is a neglected subcutaneous mycosis of humans and animals acquired by traumatic inoculation of soil and plant material (classical route) contaminated with infectious propagules of the pathogen or being bitten/scratched by infected cats (alternative route). Within a genus composed of 53 species displaying an essentially environmental core, there are only a few members which have considerable impacts on human or animal health. Infections are typically caused by S. brasiliensis, S. schenckii or S. globosa. Rare mammal pathogens include members of the S. pallida and S. stenocereus complexes. To illustrate the tremendous impact of emerging zoonotic sporotrichosis on public health, we discuss the main features of the expanding epidemics driven by S. brasiliensis in cats and humans. The cat entry in the transmission chain of sporotrichosis, causing epizooties (cat–cat) or zoonosis (cat–human), has contributed to the definition of new paradigms in Sporothrix transmission, reaching epidemic levels, making the disease a serious public health problem. Indeed, S. brasiliensis infection in humans and animals is likely to become even more important in the future, with projections of its expansion in biogeographic domains and host range, as well as greater virulence in mammals. Therefore, lessons from a long-standing outbreak in the state of Rio de Janeiro about the source and distribution of the etiological agents among outbreak areas can be used to create better control and prevention plans and increase awareness of sporotrichosis as a serious emerging zoonotic disease.

孢子菌病是人类和动物被忽视的皮下真菌病，是通过对土壤和植物材料进行创伤性接种（经典途径）而获得的，该土壤和植物材料被病原体的感染性繁殖体污染或被感染的猫咬伤/抓伤（替代途径）。在一个由53个物种组成的属中，它们基本上表现出环境核心，其中只有少数成员对人类或动物的健康有重大影响。感染通常由巴西利亚链球菌，申氏链球菌或球形链球菌引起。罕有的哺乳动物病原体包括S. pallida和S. stenocereus复合体。为了说明新出现的人畜共患的孢子菌病对公共卫生的巨大影响，我们讨论了由巴西粟链球菌在猫和人体内引发的流行病扩大的主要特征。猫进入孢子虫病传播链中，引起动物流行（cat-cat）或人畜共患病（cat-human），这为孢子虫传播的新范式的定义做出了贡献，达到了流行水平，使该病成为严重的公共卫生问题。的确，巴西利亚链球菌预计人类和动物感染在生物地理区域和宿主范围内的扩展以及在哺乳动物中的更高毒力，在未来将变得更加重要。因此，从里约热内卢州的一次长期暴发中汲取的教训，可以将病原体在暴发地区之间的来源和分布用于制定更好的控制和预防计划，并提高对孢子菌病作为一种严重的人畜共患病的认识。