First cases of treatment-resistant ringworm found in patients in US
Two cases of highly contagious, drug-resistant ringworm infection have been detected in the US.
The cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February and shared in a report published on Thursday.
The patients, from New York City, had their first symptoms in 2021 and 2022.
One of the patients carrying the infection was identified as a 47-year-old woman who developed a bad case of ringworm – known as tinea – while travelling in Bangladesh.
A rash had developed across her thighs and buttocks and health officials reported that the severe tinea did not improve after antifungal creams were used.
The woman’s infection was caused by a relatively new species of ringworm-causing fungus called Trichophyton indotineae.
Dr Avrom Caplan, an assistant professor of dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, who treated the patient and was one of the report’s authors, told NBC News: “My radar went up immediately.”
After the woman returned to the US, she visited the hospital’s emergency ward three times for help. Doctors gave several treatments, typically used for ringworm, but there was no improvement by December.
After many attempts, doctors gave the woman a four-week course of griseofulvin therapy, typically used to treat skin infections such as athlete’s foot and ringworm. But, doctors are still looking into other treatment options.
The woman’s son and husband, who live with her and have had similar rashes, are now undergoing evaluation.
Over the past decade, infections from this drug-resistant fungus have spread rapidly in South Asia, likely driven by overuse of medications to treat them, including topical antifungals and corticosteroids, the CDC report said.
Another case of the skin infection
Another patient, 28, developed the skin infection in 2021 during her third trimester of pregnancy.
She had no underlying medical conditions, no exposure to a person with a similar rash and no international travel history.
The rash was found across the woman’s body, including her neck, abdomen, pubic region and buttocks.
She was later diagnosed with tinea and began oral terbinafine therapy in January 2022 after giving birth to her baby.
However, as the rash did not clear up, the patient was then given itraconazole treatment – an antifungal cream.
The rash resolved after four weeks but continues to be monitored for potential recurrence of the infection.
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What is ringworm, and how is it treated?
According to the NHS, ringworm is a common fungal infection.
The main symptom of the infection is a rash that may look red, silver, or darker than the surrounding skin, depending on your skin tone.
A case of ringworm or tinea infection. File pic
The NHS website also states that the rash can be scaly, dry, swollen or itchy.
Ringworm can be passed on through close contact with:
• A person or animal that is already infected
• Objects that are harbouring the infection, such as bedsheets, combs or towels
• Soil containing the infection, although the NHS has said this is less common
The CDC has said that treatments for ringworm depend entirely on its location on the body and how serious the infection is.
Some forms of ringworm can be treated with over-the-counter drugs, while others may need treatment with prescription anti-fungal medication.
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
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US troops accused of ‘political stunt’ after park raid
Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
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