Abstract
Knowledge of infectious diseases in wildlife provides important information for preventing potential outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Adiaspiromycosis is a neglected human disease caused by dimorphic Onygenales fungi. The disease is produced by the inflammatory response against growing adiaspores, leading to granulomatous pneumonia. In humans, adiaspiromycosis is relevant in immunosuppressed patients. In animals, it is associated with pneumonia in fossorial species. Given the potential role of armadillos in the epidemiology of adiaspiromycosis, in this study, we sought to investigate the occurrence and pathological features of adiaspiromycosis in roadkilled armadillos. In total, 54 armadillo carcasses were suitable for postmortem pathologic examinations between February 2017 and 2020. Adiaspores, associated with granulomatous lesions, were observed in ten six-banded (Euphractus sexcinctus) and two southern naked-tailed armadillos (Cabassous unicinctus). A previously uncharacterized Onygenales species was molecularly identified in two E. sexcinctus. In summary, herein we report 12 cases of pulmonary adiaspiromycosis (PA) in two species of free-living armadillos in Brazil. Both, the morphology of the fungus, as well as the histopathological findings (granulomatous inflammatory response to adiaspores) are consistent with PA; however, as the molecular identification differs from the reported species, the potential impact of this fungus for human PA is unknown, and we cannot rule out its impact on public health.
Highlights
Knowledge of infectious diseases in wildlife provides important information for preventing potential outbreaks of zoonotic diseases
Ten E. sexcinctus (47.6%; 10/21) and two C. unicinctus (40%; 2/5) showed pulmonary histopathological findings with adiaspores morphologically most compatible with Emmonsia crescens or Blastomyces parvus. These cases were distributed in seven municipalities of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), while no cases were found in Sao Paulo (SP)
Scattered 0.5–1 mm indiameter, slightly demarcated, pale tan to yellow nodules were observed throughout the parenchyma of all lung lobes (25%; 3/12), these nodules corresponded to pulmonary adiaspiromycosis (PA) (Fig. 2)
Summary
Knowledge of infectious diseases in wildlife provides important information for preventing potential outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. In animals, it is associated with pneumonia in fossorial species. We report 12 cases of pulmonary adiaspiromycosis (PA) in two species of freeliving armadillos in Brazil. The morphology of the fungus, as well as the histopathological findings (granulomatous inflammatory response to adiaspores) are consistent with PA; as the molecular identification differs from the reported species, the potential impact of this fungus for human PA is unknown, and we cannot rule out its impact on public health. The lesions are mainly restricted to the lungs and occasionally regional lymph nodes, ocular and systemic adiaspiromycosis have been d escribed[8,10] These lesions have been reported in humans, wild fossorial mammals (rodents, moles, armadillos), some species of carnivores, deer, horses and anurans (“Supplementary Material”). Adiaspiromycosis has been described in three other armadillo species: hairy (Chaetophractus villosus), pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) and seven-banded armadillo (Dasypus septemcinctus) from A rgentina[24]
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