Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
1st U.S. case of rare ringworm, usually spread via sex, found in NYC — but don't panic
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jun 7, 2024
Modified Jun 7, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jun 7, 2024
Modified Jun 7, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A rare fungal infection that’s been circulating for years in Europe, typically through sexual contact, has made its way to New York City, according to researchers with NYU Langone Health.
It’s believed to be the first reported case of what the researchers called a “highly contagious” form of ringworm or jock itch in the United States. But health officials say there’s no indication right now of further spread.
The researchers published a case study in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week about a man in his 30s who was treated for itchy red lesions on his penis and buttocks earlier this year after traveling to Europe and California. He said he’d had multiple male sexual partners while traveling, although none had similar infections.
The Wadsworth Center, a lab run by the state Department of Health, was able to confirm the patient had a form of ringworm called trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII, or TMVII.
Patrick Gallahue, a spokesperson for the city health department, said the condition is still too uncommon to make the list of diseases that must be reported to the agency. A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health aid cases of ringworm are not reportable to that agency either, so it has no information on the number of individual cases beyond the one the Wadsworth Center helped to identify.
But NYU Langone researchers are advising local doctors to ask their patients about potential symptoms.
“It can be very itchy and scaly, like typical ringworm, but it also has the potential to be more inflammatory and cause abscesses and scarring,” said Dr. Avrom Caplan, a dermatologist at NYU Langone who worked on the study. He noted that lesions can also show up on other parts of the body. The researchers say a rash from TMVII can take months to clear up, even with treatment.
TMVII is similar to other forms of trichophyton mentagrophytes typically associated with athlete’s foot or scalp rashes.
The fungal infection has previously shown up – albeit in low numbers – in France and other parts of Europe, primarily among men who have sex with men. Researchers identified 13 cases in Paris in 2021 and 2022, and another 50 or so were reported in Europe between 2014 and 2019, according to a paper published last year in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The news of a confirmed TMVII case in New York City comes at a time when men who have sex with men are already at heightened risk for mpox, a virus that can also be spread through intimate contact and cause a painful rash. But while immunocompromised patients with mpox have been hospitalized or died in rare cases during the latest outbreak, TMVII is just a “superficial skin infection,” Caplan said.
Caplan said this TMVII is not likely to cause further health complications and can be treated with antifungal medication, but added that it can be serious in terms of its “impact on quality of life and the potential to spread it to other people.”
So far, there’s no evidence the infection is spreading in the United States, Caplan said.
This story has been updated to reflect a statement from the New York State Department of Health.
Tagged
new york city
Health and Science
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .