An outbreak of tinea corporis gladiatorum on a high school wrestling team

Which skin infections are transmitted between athletes?

“…Transmission of the fungal organism, however, is most likely primarily through skin-to-skin contact and not through fomites. 10,11 This suggestion is supported by 2 findings. First, most lesions of tinea corporis gladiatorum are located on the head, neck, and arms, which are the areas of most contact between 2 competing wrestlers.…”

“…an epidemic affecting 75% of wrestlers on a high school team. 10 The other study, which involved investigating a team without a known epidemic, found 24% of the wrestlers infected with tinea corporis.…”

“…First, most lesions of tinea corporis gladiatorum are located on the head, neck, and arms, which are the areas of most contact between 2 competing wrestlers. 10,11 If wrestling mats played a larger role in transmission, one would expect more lesions on the lower extremities. Furthermore, attempts to culture organisms from mats have been unsuccessful.…”

“…Athletes, particularly wrestlers and others subjected to extensive skin-to-skin contact, should be examined carefully before each practice and competition. 10,11 Athletes with signs of tinea infection should be treated promptly with antifungal agents and should be removed from direct contact with other wrestlers if the infected area cannot be appropriately covered using bandaging techniques.…”

Investigation of skin infection frequency in Turkish wrestlers

“…In the present study, it was detected that the types of infectious agents were fungi, bacteria and viruses in 31%, 18% and 8% of subjects, respectively. Especially, fungal skin infections were found to be common in wrestlers due to skin-to-skin contact 11,12 . The rates of reported fungal skin infections in Turkish wrestlers varied between 20% and 85% 3,8,11 .…”