GROWTH OF HUMAN PATHOGENIC ISOLATES OF SPOROTHRIX-SCHENCKII ON INDIGENOUS AND EXOTIC WOOD SPECIES IN SOUTH-AFRICA

Sporotrichosis in South Africa is associated with soil and plant mater ial contaminated with Sporothrix schenckii. In gold mines, workers con tract the disease from contaminated eucalyptus and wattle wood props u nderground. The natural occurrence of the fungus on plants or decaying vegetation is not well understood and the factors determining its occ urrence in soil are still obscure. In an attempt to determine the abil ity of S. schenckii to grow on wood, sapwood samples of 37 exotic and indigenous species were inoculated with pathogenic isolates of the fun gus and its growth documented for 90 d. Fungal growth on the wood was also examined microscopically. S. schenckii grew best on some exotic w ood species, particularly Eucalyptus grandis, E. sideroxylon, Cinnamom um camphora, Acacia melanoxylon and Ginkgo biloba. It grew on relative ly few of the other wood species. No obvious correlation was found bet ween its abundance of growth and the wood species on which it grew. It s microscopic features remained characteristic.