MIAMI.- A new disease of transmission sexualcontagious and visible on the skin, has been reported for the first time in USA and can affect the rate of infections that is increasing in the country, so this disease, although not fatal, requires rigorous control and prevention with appropriate measures, according to medical specialists.
The sexually transmitted infection was detected in an unidentified man of about 30 years of age, resident in New York, who was diagnosed with a type of fungus. Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII), and that it belongs to “the last of a group of serious skin infections that has reached the United States,” according to a study published this June 6.
The appearance of this case in the US represents “a warning” in the face of the worrying increase in sexually transmitted infections, says doctor Francisco Delgado, an internist with experience in infectious diseases, based in Miami. This, although more than 30 different bacteria, viruses and parasites are transmitted through sexual contact, indicates the WHO.
In 2021, the US registered more than 2.5 million people with sexually transmitted infections of different types, which meant a jump of 7% in one year, according to CDC data. Last April, the agency reported that the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in adults over 55 years of age have doubled in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, new cases of HIV AIDS increase particularly in the Latino community.
“Sexual relations are becoming more frequent and since this type of infection is transmitted through this route and takes weeks to cure, prevention is the most important thing, and this is the same as any other sexually transmitted disease: use of condoms, avoid intimate relationships with strangers, among others,” says Delgado.
First case of infection in the US
The study, carried out by doctors John G. Zapella and Avrom S. Caplan, from New York University, warns about the emergence of new highly contagious strains of fungi, after analyzing the first case recorded in New York.
The man infected by the TMVII fungus presented an itchy rash on the penis, buttocks and extremities, after having had sexual relations with men during his travels through Europe, specifically through England and Greece, and then California, in the United States, according to reports. . None of the men he had sex with revealed similar skin problems.
“Since patients are often reluctant to talk about genital problems, doctors should ask directly about rashes around the groin and buttocks, especially in those who are sexually active, have recently traveled abroad, and report itchy areas. in other parts of the body,” Zampella noted in the publication.
“A different itchy, contagious skin infection that causes rashes similar to TMVII is proving to be a major challenge for dermatologists,” the study said, citing another infection caused by TMVII. Trichophyton indotineaewhich is widespread in India and was also detected for the first time in the US, in New York hospitals in 2023.
Doctors warned that patients, after being treated with terbinafine, did not improve at all. “Their rashes did not go away, perhaps due to genetic mutations in the fungus.”
Although the New York University team hopes to expand its research on the two species of fungi in the coming months, Dr. Delgado insists on the need to prevent the disease and, if contagion occurs, rigorously follow treatment.
“Whether this new infection, easily transmitted sexually, from person to person, is fatal or not, so far it is not known, but we do know that it takes weeks to cure due to the characteristics of the fungus, so we must be careful. The important thing now is to scientifically determine where it came from,” he said.
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Source: Interview with doctor Francisco Delgado, with information from NYPost.com, CNNEenEspañol, OPS
