Two 15-Year-Old Wrestling Athletes Infected with 'Geomtusa Pozin'
Causing Skin Lesions on Face, Ears, and Hands
Two teenage wrestling athletes were diagnosed with 'Herpes gladiatorum.' This is the first time that Herpes gladiatorum, commonly found among overseas athletes, has been reported in South Korea.
The pediatric medical staff at Chungbuk National University Hospital disclosed this information in the latest issue of the Journal of Korean Medical Science, an international journal of the Korean Medical Association.
Herpes gladiatorum is a skin disease caused by Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1. It is mainly transmitted through skin contact or oral secretions and causes skin lesions on the face, ears, hands, and other areas.
The disease is named 'gladiator' because it is often transmitted among athletes who engage in close-contact sports such as wrestling or jiu-jitsu.
The two confirmed domestic cases are 15-year-old wrestling athletes attending the same middle school. According to the medical staff, the first patient developed blisters concentrated on the right side of the face and the auricle area. The second patient’s blisters started on the right arm and spread to the face, neck, and lips.
The medical staff initially misdiagnosed the condition as shingles. Shingles is a disease caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which lies dormant after causing chickenpox in childhood and reactivates when immunity decreases. The most distinctive feature of shingles is a red rash or blisters forming a band-like pattern on one side or a specific area of the body. The pain accompanying the blisters is also mostly limited to one side of the body.
The medical staff explained, "Because wrestlers maintain a grappling posture during matches where the head and neck are fixed against each other, skin lesions can appear limited to one side where the skin contacts. This unilateral nature of the skin lesions made it difficult to distinguish from shingles."
However, after conducting additional detailed examinations, the medical staff confirmed the diagnosis of 'Herpes gladiatorum' for both athletes.
The two athletes had been training together for several months before the onset of symptoms. It was reported that they engaged in matches with skin contact for at least three minutes daily. The medical staff also noted that similar skin lesions appeared in other athletes on the same team.
Herpes gladiatorum can heal naturally, but if symptoms are severe, the virus can invade the eyes or brain. In such cases, antiviral treatment is necessary.
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