In response to a new outbreak of a highly contagious fungal infection in New York City, health experts are sharing what you need to know to stay safe.
An unidentified New York City man in his 30s First reported case in the United States Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII) is a rare sexually transmitted ringworm. Wednesday’s JAMA Dermatology.
“The first thing to note is that there is no evidence that this infection is endemic or widespread in the United States.” Avrom S. Kaplan, Ph.D.The man who led the investigation into the incident told The Washington Post on Thursday.
“Our goal is to raise awareness and get clinicians to pay attention to this, so that people who suffer from chronic itchy rashes that don’t go away with topical treatments, especially in the groin area, will seek medical help,” added Kaplan, the Ronald O. Perelman assistant professor of dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
According to a case report, the man experienced a scaly, itchy rash “rash” on his groin, genitals, legs, arms and back after traveling to the UK, Greece and California.
TMVII was found among men in contact with sex workers in Southeast Asia and reached Europe, where there is evidence of sexual transmission.
Contrary to previous reports, shaving groin or genital hair did not increase the chance of acquiring TMVII infection.
Last year, France recorded 13 cases of TMVII: Of those diagnosed, 11 reported exclusively sexual contact with men, and nine revealed they had multiple partners in the month prior to infection.
A New York City man said he had multiple male sexual partners, none of whom had the same infection.
Kaplan told the Post that symptoms of TMVII include: Related to ringworm — It mainly appears on the skin as round, scaly, itchy patches, but it may also develop into inflamed lesions and abscesses.
The researchers warn that the TMVII rash differs from the typical circular lesions of ringworm and may be confused with eczema, leading to delays in appropriate treatment.
Infections caused by TMVII are difficult to treat and can take months to heal, but so far appear to respond to standard antifungal therapy.
Kaplan’s New York City patient was treated with terbinafine (also known as Lamisil) for six weeks, but the infection persisted, so he was switched to daily itraconazole, an antifungal drug, which further improved his condition.
Symptoms of TMVII to look out for
- Itchy, round, scaly patches appear on the skin (especially if the groin area is affected)
- Antifungal or anti-inflammatory ointments make the rash worse
