Very contagious, drug-resistant ringworm cases found in US

Two women in New York were diagnosed as the first US cases of a highly contagious, drug-resistant fungal infection- ringworm- as per a case study released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The infection has never been detected before in the United States but according to federal medical professionals more cases are being looked into.

“Tinea is a common, highly contagious, superficial infection of the skin, hair, or nails caused by dermatophyte molds,” the CDC report said, adding that during the past decade, cases of severe, antifungal-resistant tinea have emerged in South Asia. It has reached ‘epidemic proportions’ in the region, it stated.

The report revealed that the two patients, who were 28 and 47 years old respectively, had lesions on their thighs, buttocks, necks, and belly.

The first patient developed a widespread pruritic eruption in 2021 and had her first dermatologic evaluation at a time when she was in her third trimester of pregnancy. “She had no other underlying medical conditions, no known exposures to a person with a similar rash, and no recent international travel history,” the report stated.

The second patient also had no major medical conditions and developed a widespread eruption in summer 2022 while she was in Bangladesh. She received treatment with topical antifungal and steroid combination creams and some of her family members were also experiencing similar eruptions.

The skin infection has not responded to the normal treatment suggested by dermatologists. The CDC has advised people to be cautious of any circumstance that could lead to a skin illness.