- KEYPOINTS
- Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII is a drug resistant fungus that causes skin disease in animals and humans.
- The fungus is acquired through sexual contact, according to the CDC.
- The infection is not fatal but can cause permanent scarring.
Medical experts are warning doctors and the public of a highly contagious rare fungal strain after a sexually transmitted ringworm has been reported for the first time in the U.S.
“Healthcare providers should be aware that Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII is the latest in a group of severe skin infections to have now reached the United States,” lead study author and doctor Avrom Caplan, a dermatologist at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, wrote in a university news release.
Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII, is a sexually transmitted fungus, according to the Centers For Disease Control.
According to a new JAMA Dermatology report released Wednesday, the first case involved a man in his 30s from New York City who developed (tinea) ringworm on his genitals, buttocks and limbs after he reported having sex with men during a trip to California and trips overseas to England and Greece.
When the man returned home, according to the case study, he developed an itchy red, rash on areas including his groin, genitals and buttocks, and tests confirmed he had contracted the rare fungus.
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What is Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII?
Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII is a drug resistant fungus that causes skin disease in animals and humans and is acquired through sexual contact, according to the CDC.
Cases have been found all over the world, according to the CDC, which has reported cases of it in men who have sex with men, and in travelers who developed genital ringworm after traveling in Southeast Asia.
In the report, Caplan wrote the rash may look more like an eczema flare than a ringworm infection, which usually forms in a circular pattern on skin. The dermatologist said the infection is not fatal but can cause permanent scarring.
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Caplan said he previously identified the first two cases of a different ringworm infection last year. Those infections, caused by Trichophyton indotineae, are not STIs but are contagious and drug-resistant, the doctor reported.
Since then, Caplan’s NYU Langone Health team has identified 11 cases of Trichophyton indotineaeringworm in people in New York City.
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Report: An emerging public threat
So far the 11 ringworm cases in New York caused by Trichophyton indotinea, have been linked to travel to Asia, according to a report published in the same journal in May. Those cases, medical professionals said, are resistant to standard therapies including first-line antifungals.
The report indicates the fungus is an emerging public health threat because it causes ringworm infections and can sometimes be unresponsive to terbinafine, a first-line oral antifungal.
Terbinafine, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a prescription tablet used to treat fungus infections of the scalp and body, fingernails, toenails, jock itch and athlete’s foot.
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Symptoms of Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII
Symptoms of TMVII include:
- Intense itching
- Inflamed circular patterns on the skin
- Hair and nail issues
- Causes athlete’s foot
Author:: Bagombeka Job
CREDIT: USA TODAY
