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First case of rare, sexually transmitted fungus reported in the USA

Medical experts are warning doctors and the public about a highly contagious, rare strain of fungus after the first sexually transmitted ringworm infection was reported in the United States.

“Healthcare providers should be aware that Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII is the latest in a group of serious skin infections that has now reached the United States,” wrote lead study author and physician Avrom Caplan, a dermatologist at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, in a university news release.

Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII is a sexually transmitted fungus, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

According to a new report in JAMA Dermatology published Wednesday, the first case was a man in his 30s from New York City who developed ringworm on his genitals, buttocks and limbs after reporting having sex with men during a trip to California and on trips abroad to England and Greece.