West Nile Virus Antibodies in Colombian Horses

suggests that sporotrichosis is more prevalent in tropical environments with relatively cool temperatures and high humidity such the Peruvian Andes (9), northwest India (5), southwestern Vietnam (8), and in Laos in the Plain of Jars. If this environmental association is correct, sporotrichosis may occur more extensively in the cooler humid areas of Asia, such as the highlands of China, Laos, Vietnam, and Burma. Sporotrichosis can disseminate in HIV-infected patients, and this syndrome may increase as the prevalence of HIV infection rises in these areas. With 73% of the Lao population living on <US$2/day (10) and one accessible microbiologic culture laboratory in Laos, PCR is not an available local routine diagnostic technique. We were fortunate to have access to an overseas diagnostic facility, which allowed confirmation of the clinical diagnosis before the patient received a prolonged course of a drug with adverse effects and drug interactions. Diagnosis by histopathologic examination and culture may be difficult, and identifying laboratories in different regions of the subtropics and tropics with an interest in diagnosis of sporotrichoid lesions and the capability to perform culture and PCR would facilitate the diagnosis and awareness of this disease. Itraconazole, which has become the drug of choice for lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis, is expensive. Saturated solution of potassium iodide is an inexpensive alternative and appears to be effective, although adverse effects occur frequently (3,4).