Several men diagnosed with rare infection after frequenting the same gay bathhouse

Posed by model (Photo: Shutterstock) The CDC has recently reported on a rare infection among men in France. Each of the men presented with symptoms of dermatophilus, a rare skin infection caused by the bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis. Also known as "mud fever" or "rain scald," the fungus-like infection primarily affects animals. In humans, it usually results in mild, localized skin lesions, scabs and pustules that clear up quickly with antibiotic treatment. Because it typically infects animals, human cases—especially away from rural areas—are rare. People who sometimes acquire the infection are usually vets, farmers and animal riders. Transmission is more likely on wet or damaged skin. Until now, human-to-human transmission has not been recorded. However, none of the men in this French flare-up are believed to have come into contact with livestock, and they don't live in rural areas. However, they all enjoy sex with other men and all sought treatment at the STI clinic at the University Hospital in Lyon. Most of their symptoms were in areas of their bodies “exposed during sexual contact.” Bathhouse connection Seven of the nine men reported visiting the same local gay bathhouse. One man said he’d visited three bathhouses in Paris. One said he’d not visited any saunas. All the men responded well to antibiotic treatment. However, one man returned eight weeks later with new signs of the same infection. He said he had been back to visit the same sauna, leading health experts to think this might be a case of reinfection rather than relapse. The CDC report concludes by saying, “Although no direct sexual contact between patients could be formally established, the … overlapping sexual exposures, shared multiple STI history, lesion distribution, and close genomic relatedness of isolates strongly support transmission occurring within shared exposure networks, likely involving close physical or sexual contact.” It also suggests that “Evolving sexual practices in the [PrEP] era could lead to emergence of new transmissible” skin infections. It advises clinicians and microbiologists to be aware of the skin condition in case they observe it in patients and if they have exhausted other diagnostic tests. Thankfully, dermatophilus is easily treatable. However, the fact that human-to-human transmission of this particular infection has not been recorded before has clinicians wondering exactly how this new breakout occurred. Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.