[Experience with 241 sporotrichosis cases in Chiba/Japan]

Between 1965 and 1991, 241 cases of sporotrichosis have been seen in the Department of Dermatology at Chiba University Hospital. Children under the age of 12 and patients older than 40 years had a higher rate of infection. Most affected were the upper extremities, followed by lesions of the face. One hundred twenty-four patients (51.5%) were farmers. The decrease in the number of patients observed since 1983 is attributed mainly to a drop in the percentage of the local population involved in agriculture. There was no correlation between the number of infections and the amount of precipitation, as had been suggested earlier. The patients were treated with potassium iodide and in some cases with additional thermotherapy.