Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Review Article
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci. 3 (2S): 54 - 63. Special Issue-2 (Reviews on Trends and Advances in Safeguarding Terrestrial /Aquatic Animal Health and Production)
http://dx.doi.org/10.14737/journal.aavs/2015/3.2s.54.63
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Ruchi Tiwari1, Kumaragurubaran Kart hik2, Kuldeep Dhama3, Muhammad Zubair Shabbir4, Sandip Kumar Khurana5

1Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Sciences, Uttar Pradesh Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwa Vidyalaya Evum Go-Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU), Mathura (U.P.)–281001, India; 2Division of Bacteriology and Mycology; 3Division of Pathology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly (U.P.)–243122, India; 4Quality Operations Laboratory, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan; 5National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, 125 001, India.

*Correspondence | Ruchi Tiwari, College of Veterinary Sciences, DUVASU, Mathura (U.P.), India; Email: ruchi.vet@gmail.com

Abstract
Rhinosporidiosis is a non-contagious, sporadic, chronic granulomatous infection of man and large domestic animals, characterised by the production of large polyps with high recurrence rate. Polyps occur mainly in nasal, ocular regions; cutaneous and disseminated forms are relatively rare. Spread of these organisms to other areas in an affected person may involve blood, lymph or auto infection. Rhinosporidiosis has been reported form more than 70 countries and mainly the reports are concentrated from Sri Lanka and Southern India. Surgical removal of the polyp will be the cure and in some cases dapsone has given some cure. From the day of inception of this disease there had been a controversy for causative agent of this condition among eukaryotic protozoan parasite or algae or fungi or prokaryotic blue green algae which finally confirmed as a fungi Rhinosporidium seeberi. Recent works by various researchers shows that R. seeberi belong to the class Mesomycetozoea. Other mystery remains in its habitat and its inability to be cultured on laboratory media. Similarly, laboratory animal infection does not yield classical form of disease as it does in human and large animals. The pathogen is so mysterious that the mechanism behind evasion of immune mechanism is also not clear. Still various aspects of disease such as mode of transmission, mechanism of infection, biology of rhinosporidiosis, immunological response and laboratory culture techniques are unresolved mysteries due to paucity of documented data which demands more exploration. This review illustrates main features of rhinosporidiosis and systematic approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of this controversial pathogen.

Keywords | Rhinosporidiosis, Nasal polyps, Man, Animals, Diagnosis, Treatment