A highly transmissible, drug-resistant ringworm infection has been found in two women in New York City.
The two patients — whose infections are not connected — are the first cases to be identified in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The infections, caused by the fungus Trichophyton indotineae, have cropped up in South Asia but had never been seen in the U.S., the CDC said.
It causes a red, itchy rash on the skin that can spread through skin-to-skin contact.
A dermatologist in New York City detected ringworm in the two women — ages 28 and 47 — and notified public health officials in late February after one did not respond to the initial treatment.
The 28-year-old woman — who was pregnant at the time — developed a rash in the summer of 2021 on her neck, abdomen, pubic region and buttocks, the CDC said.
“She had no other underlying medical conditions, no known exposures to a person with similar rash, and no recent international travel history,” according to the CDC.
Her rash went away after being treated with itraconazole, an antifungal medication.