A ‘super-fungus’ that is difficult to treat and can be spread through hugging, sex, and even swimming is likely spreading undetected in the UK, doctors have warned. The ringworm infection trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII) causes a painful rash and can go unnoticed for weeks, allowing it to spread before the carrier is even aware they have it.
Once detected, the illness, which can initially be mistaken for eczema, can take weeks to diagnose and months to treat.
Dr David Denning, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Manchester, told MailOnline: “If you had a rash on your chest or your back, you might not bother to deal with it for a week or two. If you were to go to a doctor and they prescribe something like a steroid or antibacterial cream but it doesn’t work, we could be looking at six to eight weeks since it began.”
“But you could have transmitted it in the first two or three weeks to a partner or a friend that you gave a big hug to, went swimming with.”
Dr Denning described TMVII as ‘very inflammatory’, causing a severe rash that is extremely difficult to treat. He said: “Usual treatments don’t work.”, reports Surrey Live.
The disease has already been identified in countries across Asia, the Middle East, North America and France, and anyone travelling there could have brought it back. Dr Neil Stone, a consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology at University College London Hospitals, told MailOnline: ‘It is inevitably going to spread worldwide including in the UK.
US health authorities have confirmed that a man diagnosed with the illness in New York had previously travelled to the UK. Subsequent cases have emerged in the US city, raising concerns about TMVII which is known to leave lasting scars.
Dr Denning warned: “It will get into the general population of Britain, and we’ll end up with it being transmitted in Britain.”