Dr. Clarissa Souza, assistant professor of dermatology, presented an in-demand CE webinar for AVMA, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about a fungal zoonotic disease known as sporotrichosis. The disease, transmitted by cats to humans, is endemic in Brazil.
A native Brazilian, Dr. Souza completed her veterinary, master’s, and PhD degrees, as well as her specialty training in dermatology, at the Universidade de São Paulo. In 2014, she moved to the United States.
Recent concerns about the emergence of sporotrichosis cases in the U.S., possibly associated with animals traveling from endemic countries, led the CDC to contact Dr. Souza.
“I’m the only dermatologist in the U.S. that has a large experience diagnosing and treating the disease in animals,” Dr. Souza said.
The webinar’s goal was to inform veterinarians of the possibility of the fungal disease affecting patients. Sporotrichosis has not commonly been diagnosed in the U.S. However, as people travel abroad and bring their animals, more cases may appear.
“Most veterinarians in this country have never seen a case, so they may not remember it exists,” Dr. Souza said. “We want to make veterinarians aware that from now on, that’s going to be a possibility. They need to include the fungal disease in their list of differential diagnoses.”
Faculty from other universities have strongly recommended the webinar, which also focuses on the proper treatment of the disease, addressing the appropriate antimicrobial stewardship practices and ensuring that veterinarians should only treat what they know they’re treating.
“It’s great to be recognized,” Dr. Souza said. “That’s also because my focus is to help veterinarians properly diagnose the disease instead of just prescribing medications to see what happens.”
The webinar was presented at the CDC Fungal Disease Awareness Week on September 17. For more information regarding fungal zoonotic diseases, the AVMA webinar is available online by applying for a non-member account: “Fungal zoonotic diseases: Updates.”
