A physician at New York City-based NYU Langone Health found the first sexually transmitted ringworm infection in the U.S., NBC News reported June 5.
The case, published June 5 in JAMA Dermatology by Avrom Caplan, MD, an assistant professor of dermatology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, described a New York City man in his 30s who reported having sex with multiple men during a trip to England, Greece and California. When he returned home, he developed a red, itchy rash on his legs, groin and buttocks.
He was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted fungus called Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII. It is the first time this fungus has been identified in the U.S.
The infection responded to standard antifungal medications but took four and a half months to fully heal.
While the infection was most likely transmitted sexually, Dr. Caplan said he could not rule out the possibility that the infection was acquired in a sauna the man visited two months prior to his symptoms, the report said.