Two additional workers had positive serologic tests but no clinical manifestations. Exposure to fresh hay was not associated with infection in six workers who cut and baled hay at the implicated fields. The prairie hay used by the crews had been cut in August 1982. Samples obtained from soil and plants at the implicated field 2 months after the hay mulching were negative for S. schenckii. It is found worldwide in soil, plants, and decaying vegetation.
Cutaneous sporotrichosis follows inoculation of spores into the skin and subcutaneous tissue.
Infections of joints, central nervous system, and lungs occur, but are rare. Health professionals attending workers with occupational exposure to decaying plant matter, including hay, should be alert for sporotrichosis as a cause of chronic skin disease. References Powell KE, Taylor A, Phillips BJ, et al. Cutaneous sporotrichosis in forestry workers. Epidemic due to contaminated sphagnum moss.