First Detections of Emerging Dermatophytes Trichophyton mentagrophytes Type VII and Trichophyton indotineae — Colorado, 2024–2025
- Presentation Day/Time: Thursday, April 23, 4:05 PM
- Presenter: Pallavi Oruganti, DVM, MPH, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
The Issue
- Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII) and Trichophyton indotineae are emerging Trichophyton species that cause severe, hard-to-treat fungal skin infections. TMVII and T. indotineae are spread through skin-to-skin contact, including sexual and intimate contact. Between July 2024 – March 2026, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) received reports of five people with TMVII and two with T. indotineae.
What We Did
- We investigated to characterize these cases in Colorado by reviewing medical records and using a standardized form to collect demographic characteristics, epidemiologic risk factors, and clinical course.
What We Found
- The five patients with TMVII ranged in age from 29-52 years. Four patients were men, and one patient was a woman. The two patients with T. indotineae infection were men over 60 years old. Both reported travel to Southeast Asia during the three months before symptom onset.
What This Means
- These are the first reports of emerging TMVII and T. indotineae infections in Colorado. CDPHE interviewed patients to determine potential exposures and risk factors. Case finding is ongoing and a health alert was distributed in January of 2026 alerting healthcare providers to the emergence of TMVII and T. indotineae in Colorado and requesting they report additional patients to CDPHE.
