Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - A once-rare drug-resistant genital fungus, previously almost unseen in Britain, is now spreading rapidly among families across the UK, prompting warnings from health experts. Trichophyton indotineae, a highly contagious ringworm-type infection that has become resistant to standard antifungal treatments, has surged by nearly 500 per cent in three years, new data shows.
The infection, which can cause severe red, itchy rashes
across the groin, buttocks, thighs and other parts of the body, is not
life-threatening but is extremely difficult to treat. Patients often require
hospital-based courses of itraconazole, a medication known to carry significant
toxic side effects, including risks to the liver and heart.
Professor Darius Armstrong-James, a fungal specialist at
Imperial College London, said cases have risen sharply and warned that the
growing frequency of infections entering hospitals is “very concerning.” New
data presented at an international health conference last week shows cases in
the UK and Ireland rising from just 44 before 2022 to 258 as of March 2025.
The fungus, first detected in India in 2014, has since
mutated, gaining resistance to common antifungal medicines. Doctors say it
spreads easily through contaminated household items such as towels, bedding and
clothing, and can also be linked to close skin-to-skin contact. Clusters of
cases have been reported within families, and experts warn that misdiagnosis is
common because the infection can resemble eczema or psoriasis.
Dr David Denning of the University of Manchester described
the rash as “angry” and “formidable,” noting that if left untreated it can
spread to the face, become painful and inflamed, and leave permanent scarring.
He said the condition can be so socially limiting that some sufferers feel
unable to leave their homes or go to work.
Most UK cases so far are in people of South Asian heritage,
but experts warn the fungus will likely spread more widely. The youngest
recorded patient in the UK is just two years old.
The rise of T. indotineae comes amid growing global concerns
over antimicrobial resistance in fungi, including drug-resistant strains such
as Candidozyma auris, which has spread in UK hospitals over the past decade.
Despite the threat, fungal diseases remain significantly under-researched, and
NHS dermatology waiting times, often stretching beyond 18 weeks, mean many
patients remain infectious for far longer than necessary.
Experts say the continued spread of drug-resistant fungi has
“major implications” for public health as more pathogens evolve beyond the
reach of existing treatments.
0 Comments