Healthcare professionals are alerted to the emergence of highly contagious fungal infections, such as ringworm and jock itch, with two recent studies highlighting cases resistant to standard treatments. The first study reports a sexually transmitted fungal infection, TMVII, that has been challenging to treat and slow to resolve but responsive to typical antifungal medications. The second study involves a different fungus, T. indotineae, which often resists conventional treatments but has shown some responsiveness to an alternative medication, itraconazole, despite potential side effects. Researchers emphasize the importance of recognizing these infections’ atypical presentations to avoid misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment.
Healthcare professionals are warned of emerging, highly contagious fungal infections, including sexually transmitted and drug-resistant strains, which may be misdiagnosed due to their atypical presentation.
Healthcare providers need to be vigilant for emerging and highly infectious types of ringworm and jock itch, which pose a potential public health risk according to a pair of reports.
In the first of the studies, experts at NYU Langone Health who focus on the spread of contagious rashes document the first reported U.S. case of a sexually transmitted fungal infection that can take months to clear up even with treatment. In the second report, NYU Langone physicians partnered with authorities at the New York State Department of Health to describe the largest group of patients in the country with a similar fungal strain that resists standard therapies.
Characteristics of the Fungal Infections
Both DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2024.1430
“Clinical Course, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Genomic Sequencing of Trichophyton indotineae” by Avrom S. Caplan, Gabrielle C. Todd, YanChun Zhu, Michelle Sikora, Christine C. Akoh, Jeannette Jakus, Shari R. Lipner, Kayla Babbush, Karen P. Acker, Ayana E. Morales, Rebecca M. Marrero Rolón, Lars F. Westblade, Maira Fonseca, Abigail Cline, Jeremy A. W. Gold, Shawn R. Lockhart, Dallas J. Smith, Tom Chiller, William G. Greendyke, Swati R. Manjari, Nilesh K. Banavali and Sudha Chaturvedi, 15 May 2024, JAMA Dermatology.
DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2024.1126
Study funding was provided by NYU Langone.
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