Phaeohyphomycosis fungal infection in cat

Hi all, TL;DR: my cat has a rare fungal infection called Phaeohyphomycosis which, according to Wikipedia has an 80% mortality rate in humans. I can’t find a vet with any real knowledge about this and am sort of freaking out. Background: my cat has had recurring open sores/lesions for 10 months now. Many many rounds of antibiotics have been successful at first, but the wounds eventually reappear. 2 surgeries were done in an attempt to remove either a foreign body or an infection and neither were successful. A biopsy was done and the infection was found to be Phaeohyphomycosis. I have spoken with 2 vets, both said that they were not familiar with this, did not have any further advice beyond putting an antifungal cream on it, and that I need to see a dermatologist. I have an appointment with a dermatologist on October 21st, I was unable to get an appointment any sooner than this. I am admittedly freaking out. The Wikipedia page lists an 80% mortality rate in humans (57 of 72 patients died) and the infection is transmissible to humans. I can’t really figure out how to verify this is any way since the vets I have access to don’t know much about this infection. My cat has been sleeping in my bed for the last 10 months. Obviously if there is any real risk of me or my husband or my dogs contracting this, I know what needs to be done. But if the risk is low and I can possibly save my cat with a long course of anti fungal meds then I absolutely want to go down this path. I genuinely just don’t know what to do at this point. Thank you in advance.

Hello - this is a condition with which I am not particularly familiar, but I can hear how worried you are for your cats - and your own - health.  "Phaeohyphomycosis" means infection with one of the coloured moulds.  These are actually found quite commonly in the environment, but only rarely do they infect the tissues.  When they do, this is usually in association with a wound and most of those patients will have a poor immune system allowing infection.  I am not sure after reading your post how you know that your pet has this infection, where the lesion is, how it occurred or how it is presenting.  According to Merek's Veterinary Manual, an updated online resource for vets, excision surgery - if possible, together with an extended, long-term course of anti-fungals - can be curative.  However, patients that were infected because their immune system was reduced for some other reason, carry a poor prognosis.  Your vet might therefore plan to assess your cat for underlying disease. Do you have an appointment booked to talk this through with them?  Disease can apparently be spread from cats to humans without a wound, so we would recommend checking with your vet and / or medical team whether they would have you do anything differently.