Trichophyton Rubrum. Popliteal Fossa. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
NEW YORK CITY - A severe, drug-resistant, highly contagious ringworm infection known as Tinea has made its way to New York City.
On February 28, 2023, public health officials in New York City received reports from a dermatologist regarding two patients with severe tinea that did not respond to treatment.
The first patient was a 28-year-old woman who developed a "widespread pruritic eruption" in the summer of 2021. The woman, who was pregnant at the time of diagnosis, had no known exposures to a person with a similar rash and no travel history.
A second person, a 47-year-old woman, had developed a widespread pruritic eruption in the summer of 2022 while in Bangladesh. After returning to the U.S., she was prescribed multiple treatments without improvement.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Dermatologist suggestions
Good Day's Christal Young talks to top dermatologist Dr. Amy Lewis about all things skin.
Both women required weeks of therapy to rid themselves of the infection.
Tinea, also known as ringworm, is a common superficial infection that affects the skin, hair, or nails.
Over the past decade, there has been an epidemic of severe, antifungal-resistant tinea in South Asia because of the rapid rise of Trichophyton indotineae. Misuse and overuse of topical antifungal agents and corticosteroids have been the driving factors behind this outbreak.
RELATED: New research: Seasonal allergies linked to mood disorders like anxiety, depression
Infections are highly contagious and typically manifest as inflamed, itchy plaques on various parts of the body, including the body itself, the groin and adjacent thigh area, or even the face.
Health officials say the fact that one of the cases could not be tied to international travel indicates that the germ is spreading locally in the United States. However, experts in New York City are telling residents not to be concerned over the infection's arrival in the Big Apple.
"People should not be worried about this," Dr. Avrom Caplan told Gothamist. "The important takeaway points here are for clinicians in particular and for public health authorities. So, we know public health authorities are looking out for this, they've been looking out for it."