การติดเชื้อรา (โรคเชื้อราชนิดแพร่กระจายทั่วร่างกาย)

Key Facts

• Aspergillosis: nasal or disseminated; cats with poor immune systems most at risk
• Blastomycosis: geographic (Mississippi/Ohio River valleys); dogs 10x more susceptible than humans, 100x more than cats
• Spores are inhaled and can spread from lungs to eyes, bones, skin, brain
• Diagnosis is challenging: biopsy, culture, serology, imaging (CT/MRI may be needed)
• Treatment: long-term antifungals (itraconazole, fluconazole, amphotericin B)
• Treatment can take months and is expensive
• Pets may worsen initially on treatment as dying organisms trigger inflammation
• Prognosis: nasal forms better than disseminated; brain involvement is often fatal
• Relapses common, especially if treatment stopped too early
• Blastomycosis is NOT contagious between animals or to humans
• Cryptococcosis: most common nasal fungal infection in cats; blood antigen test is accurate