New Sexually Transmitted Fungal Infection Emerges in MSM

A dermatophyte known as Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII) has been identified as the cause of an emerging sexually transmitted fungal infection in four adults in the United States, according to a paper published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

TMVII is a sexually transmitted fungus that causes genital tinea; the fungus might be misidentified as eczema, psoriasis, or other dermatologic conditions, Jason E. Zucker, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, and colleagues wrote.

“Dermatophyte infections, including TMVII, are spread through direct skin-to-skin contact,” said corresponding author Avrom S. Caplan, MD, a dermatologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, in an interview.

“In the United States, to our knowledge, the infection has only been in MSM [men who have sex with men], but there have been reports of TMVII in Europe in non-MSM patients, including among patients who travelled to Southeast Asia for sex tourism or partners of people who have been infected with TMVII,” he said.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/new-sexually-transmitted-fungal-infection-emerges-msm-2024a1000ko6?ecd=WNL_trdalrt_pos2_241115_etid7004345&uac=412626FJ&impID=7004345

cdc.gov

Notes from the Field: Trichophyton mentagrophytes ...

This report describes four Trichophyton mentagrophytes gentotype VII infections diagnosed in New York City men who have sex with men.