Penile ringworm in gay community

Some cases have been among people who live in the same household who probably have a lot of contact with each other. Kenneth Katz: Severe, drug-resistant and sexually transmitted ringworm. It’s called tinea, also known as ringworm (or “jock itch” if it’s in the.

Testing involves taking and sending a sample to a lab, with specialized molecular testing for the type of fungus that causes drug resistant ringworm.

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We are describing this as an emerging infection. Compared with typical, non-drug resistant ringworm, drug resistant ringworm infections can be very severe—covering larger regions of the body—and extremely itchy. That can help for many rashes, but in the case of fungal infections, hydrocortisone and other topical steroid medicines are like fertilizer for fungus, and actually worsen the infection.

Many people may be familiar with ringworm, a common, contagious fungal infection having nothing to do with worms that can infect the skin, hair, or nails. San Francisco AIDS Foundation has been in touch with local, state, and federal public health agencies, and we are pushing for preparation and for other agencies to take this seriously and be prepared to offer testing, treatment, and information.

We are now starting to recognize and see cases in the U. I described the drug resistant case of ringworm I treated as the worst I have ever seen because of how miserable it made the patient. Kenneth Katz shares his expertise on an emerging infection affecting gay men.

It will typically require a longer course of treatment. Drug resistant ringworm cases have been seen in other parts of the world in the past 10 years, including parts of Asia and Europe, with a recent outbreak among men who have sex with men in Paris.

A rare sexually transmitted ringworm caused by the fungus Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII has been reported for the first time in the United States, according to a report published in JAMA Dermatology by doctors at NYU Langone Health.

Many people, if they get an itchy rash, just grab hydrocortisone cream over the counter and start applying that. The sores can also be painful.

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Infections show up as red and scaly sores, often round, that can be in the groin, on the butt, body, feet, and on the face. The cases reported in Paris were thought to be sexually transmitted because they appeared around the genitals and anus, on the butt, and on the face.

They were suffering so much from how itchy it was. And some of the infections have been described as happening during sex, which would mean quite a bit of skin-to-skin contact. But people of any age, gender, sexual orientation, or HIV status can get ringworm or drug resistant ringworm.

Sexual health. The CDC last week issued an alert about a new variant of a genital fungal infection detected in New York City. Skip to content Registration for Cycle to Zero is now open! Share this Post. The infection is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, so anyone coming into close contact with a sore on the skin of someone who has this type of ringworm might get it.

About the author. August 15, 3 Minute Read. It also took time to realize that the usual medications were not working and to do the necessary testing to determine it was drug resistant ringworm. Photo: Getty images. First case of rare, sexually transmitted form of ringworm reported in the U.S.

The fungal infection has been increasingly found in Europe, mostly among men who have sex with men.