US doctors fear a hidden epidemic of drug-resistant fungi that can cause ringworm in humans. This can be illustrated by the two cases of serious illness reported in New York. The study was published by the federal agency of the US Department of Health CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). official area.
It was noted that these two cases were not directly related – one patient developed the infection in the summer of 2021 in the United States and the other in the summer of 2022 in Bangladesh.
Most often, ringworm occurs in the form of superficial mycosis with damage to the skin and hair, less often – on the nails, but sometimes in the form of deep mycosis with damage to the internal organs and musculoskeletal system. If left untreated, lichen can lead to secondary bacterial infections.
In two cases, scientists first thought the lichen was caused by the fungus Trichophyton mentagrophytes, a fungus that can often be acquired from pets. However, analysis of the fungus’s genes showed that it was a relatively recently discovered species known as Trichophyton indotineae.
T. indotineae carries protective mutations in the gene for an enzyme targeted by a first-line antifungal drug called terbinafine. The drug, taken in the form of tablets, is used in various infections caused by fungi that affect the skin and nails.
Terbinafine resistance was first identified in another strain of herpes zoster species in India in 2014 and in Europe in 2020. However, these two cases are the first to be found in the US and this is cause for concern. This may indicate that the strain has spread in a new population.