Sporotrichosis in a nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

An adult female nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) died in the qu arantine station of a private Swiss zoo. Multifocal ulcerative skin lesions and multiple hemorrhages in the lungs were found at necropsy. The spleen w as enlarged and dark red. Histologically, there was diffuse granulomatous i nfiltration, including multinucleated giant cells, of the skin lesions, lun gs, spleen, liver; heart, and kidneys. Abundant periodic acid-Schiff-positi ve yeastlike cells were demonstrated intracellularly in giant cells and ext racellularly scattered throughout the tissues. Morphology of the cells vari ed, with some nonbudding cells resembling Cryptococcus neoformans and other s resembling Sporothrix schenckii. A diagnosis of sporotrichosis was confir med by immunofluorescence studies. This is the first report of sporotrichos is in an armadillo in a zoological garden and the third report of sporotric hosis in D. novemcinctus.