Cases Of Highly Contagious, Drug-Resistant Ringworm Found In US: Report

Two women in New York have been diagnosed as the first US cases of a highly contagious, drug-resistant fungal infection that has seemingly never been detected before in the United States, according to a case study released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

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," said the CDC report.

The report further stated that during the past decade, an epidemic of severe, antifungal-resistant tinea has emerged in South Asia, where it has reached 'epidemic proportions'.

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

The first patient, who is 28 years old, developed a widespread pruritic eruption during the summer of 2021. She had her first dermatologic evaluation in December 2021, at which time 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," states the report.

The second patient, aged 47 years with no major medical conditions, developed a widespread, pruritic eruption in summer 2022 while in Bangladesh. There, she received treatment with topical antifungal and steroid combination creams and noted that several family members were experiencing similar eruptions. After returning to the United States, she visited an emergency department three times during the autumn of 2022.

Because the skin infection has not responded to the normal therapies suggested by dermatologists, the CDC is worried about this specific strain. The organisation has advised citizens to be cautious of any circumstance that could lead to a skin illness.