Rhinosporidiosis is an infection caused by ''

Rhinosporidium seeberi ''Rhinosporidium seeberi'' is a eukaryotic pathogen responsible for rhinosporidiosis, a disease which affects humans, horses, dogs, and to a lesser extent cattle, cats, foxes, and birds. It is most commonly found in tropical areas, especially I ...

''.

Classification

This organism was previously considered to be a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

, and rhinosporidiosis is classified as a fungal disease under

ICD-10 ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), a medical classification list by the World Health Organization (WHO). It contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, ...

. It is now considered to be a

protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

classified under

Mesomycetozoea The Mesomycetozoea (or DRIP clade, or Ichthyosporea) are a small group of Opisthokonta in Eukaryota (formerly protists), mostly parasites of fish and other animals. Significance They are not particularly distinctive morphologically, appearing in ...

. Authors of detailed studies have revealed superficial similarities between ''

Dermocystidium ''Dermocystidium'' is a genus of cyst-forming, parasitic eukaryotes of fish, which are the causative agents of dermocystidiosis. Taxonomic History The genus ''Dermocystidium'' was described in 1907. It was previously thought to be a genus of fu ...

'' and '' Rhinosporidium'' when using light microscopy, but substantial morphological differences between the groups exist. There is some evidence that DNA extracted from purified uncontaminated round bodies (Rhinosporidium seeberi) is of

cyanobacterial Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blue ...

origin.

Pathophysiology

Rhinosporidiosis is a granulomatous disease affecting the mucous membrane of nasopharynx, oropharynx, conjunctiva, rectum and external genitalia. Though the floor of the nose and inferior turbinate are the most common sites, the lesions may appear elsewhere too. Traumatic inoculation from one site to others is common. Laryngeal rhinosporidiosis, Ajit Daharwal, Hansa Banjara, Digvijay Singh, Anuj Gupta, Surjeet Singh. 2011
A rare case of laryngeal rhinosporidiosis
J Laryngol Voice 2011;1:30-2 too, has been described and may be due to inoculation from the nose during endotracheal intubation. After inoculation, the organism replicates locally, resulting in hyperplasia of host tissue and localised immune response. * infection of nose and nasopharynx - 70% * infection of palpebral conjunctiva - 15%

Diagnosis

* History ** Unilateral nasal obstruction ** Epistaxis ** Local pruritus ** Rhinorrhea **

Coryza Rhinitis, also known as coryza, is irritation and inflammation of the Mucous membrane of nose, mucous membrane inside the human nose, nose. Common symptoms are a nasal congestion, stuffy nose, rhinorrhea, runny nose, sneeze, sneezing, and post- ...

(rhinitis) with sneezing ** Post nasal discharge with cough ** Foreign body sensation ** History of exposure to contaminated water ** Increased tearing and photo phobia in cases of infection of palpebral conjunctiva * On examination ** Pink to deep red polyps ** Strawberry like appearance ** Bleeds easily upon manipulation * Diagnosis ** confirmed by biopsy and histopathology - several round or oval sporangia and spores which may be seen bursting through its chitinous wall

Treatment

* Surgical excision - wide excision with wide area electro-coagulation of the lesion base * Medical treatment is not so effective but treatment with a year-long course of

dapsone Dapsone, also known as 4,4'-sulfonyldianiline (SDA) or diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS), is an antibiotic commonly used in combination with rifampicin and clofazimine for the treatment of leprosy. It is a second-line medication for the treatment a ...

has been reported * Recurrence is common

Epidemiology

Disease endemic in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is presumed to be transmitted by exposure to the pathogen when taking a bath in stagnant water pools where animals also bathe.It is also common in South Asian countries.

References

External links

{{Mycoses Bovine diseases Cat diseases Dog diseases Mycosis-related cutaneous conditions