Epidemic hazard

Minnesota health officials have issued a warning on the nation’s “largest known outbreak” of Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII — a sexually transmitted fungus that can cause severe ringworm.
Officials say more than 30 confirmed or suspected cases of T. mentagrophytes genotype VII, also known as TMVII, have clustered around the Twin Cities metro area.The infection appears as “round, coin-like rashes that are red and irritated, sometimes with bumps and pimples on top,” according to the Minnesota Health Department, and it can lead to scarring and secondary infections. The rash can be found on the face, buttocks, genitals, arms, legs and abdomen. TMVII is treatable with oral antifungals.Avrom S. Caplan, MD, associate professor of dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said emerging clusters of TMVII “are not surprising.”“As this infection continues to be reported, and as patients, clinicians and public health officials learn more about it, I think we’ll see additional cases,” Caplan, who authored a 2024 study on TMVII, told Healio.The first U.S. case of TMVII was reported in New York City in 2024, according to the CDC, with Minnesota’s first reported case in July 2025, when a patient sought treatment for a genital rash. The CDC notes that TMVII has circulated in Europe for several years and has occurred among people who traveled to Southeast Asia for sex tourism.TMVII tends to be more prevalent among men who have sex with men, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.Caplan said TMVII has been on the radar of experts before the Minnesota cluster.“Since reporting TMVII, we have been working with colleagues in public health and among clinicians in infectious disease to help get this information into ID circles,” he said.Meanwhile, health experts urge people diagnosed with TMVII to alert their sexual partners and to avoid skin-to-skin contact, sexual or otherwise, until finished with treatment, which can last up to 3 months. People with symptoms are instructed not to share clothing and other personal items.