Medical Mycology,2015,53,3–14 doi: 10.1093/mmy/myu062 Advance Access Publication Date: 19 December 2014 Review Article Review Article Global epidemiology of sporotrichosis 1, 2 Arunaloke Chakrabarti ∗,AlexandroBonifaz , Maria Clara Gutierrez-Galhardo3,TakashiMochizuki4 and Shanshan Li5 1Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Downloaded from Chandigarh, India, 2Department of Mycology & Service of Dermatology, General Hospital of Mexico, Mexico´ city, Mexico, 3Laboratorio´ de Dermatologia Infecciosa, Instituto de Pesquisa Cl´ınica Evandro Chagas, Fundac¸aOswaldoCruz,RiodeJaneiro,Brazil,˜ 4Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Kahoku, Ishikawa, Japan and 5Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China http://mmy.oxfordjournals.org/ *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Arunaloke Chakrabarti, Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India. Tel: 91 172 2755155; + Fax: 91 172 2744401; E-mail:
[email protected] + Received 23 April 2014; Revised 11 July 2014; Accepted 18 August 2014 Abstract Sporotrichosis is an endemic mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix at University of Manchester on January 19, 2015 schenckii sensu lato. It has gained importance in recent years due to its worldwide preva- lence, recognition of multiple cryptic species within the originally described species, and its distinctive ecology, distribution, and epidemiology across the globe. In this review, we describe the current knowledge of the taxonomy, ecology, prevalence, molecular epi- demiology, and outbreaks due to S. schenckii sensu lato. Despite its omnipresence in the environment, this fungus has remarkably diverse modes of infection and distribution patterns across the world. We have delved into the nuances of how sporotrichosis is intimately linked to different forms of human activities, habitats, lifestyles, and environ- mental and zoonotic interactions.