The first known Maltese patient to have contracted a certain type of scalp ringworm, which could lead to baldness, probably got it when he lay down on a bench press at a gym, a medical report has revealed.

The 16-year-old boy, who has been treated successfully, was found to have a type of scalp ringworm – or tinea capitis – that is very common in Europe but new to Malta. In 2003 two cases were reported on the island but both patients were non-Maltese.

Scalp ringworm is transmitted from person to person through direct contact or by sharing items like combs and hair brushes.

“The only possible source we identified was his regular attendance at a gym where he did bench presses.

“We postulate that the contact of his unprotected scalp with the bench surface infected by a previous user may have been the mode of acquisition...” wrote the authors of a case study published in the Malta Medical Journal.

They did not see any other cases of infection from the gym. Scalp ringworm is an infection caused by different types of fungi. In Malta cases of scalp ringworm are mainly caused by two types of fungi known by their scientific names – microsporum canis and T. mentagrophytes.

The only possible source we identified was his regular attendance at a gym

But the itchy infection the boy suffered from was caused by a different type called trichophyton tonsurans – the most common cause in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, where it is responsible for 60 per cent of cases.

The authors stressed that it was important that doctors were made aware of this so they could diagnose cases immediately given that, if left untreated, it could lead to permanent baldness.

The boy had been referred to the dermatology department at Sir Boffa Hospital in February because he had a bald patch measuring about six by five centimetres.

Authors Godfrey Baldacchino, Stephen Decelis, Dino Vella Briffa and Michal Boffa wrote that the healthy teenager did not know how long the bald patch had been there as he only noticed it after a haircut.

The boy’s doctor first diagnosed him as having alopecia areata – a localised baldness – and prescribed a steroid solution but he saw no improvements.

After further examinations and a diagnosis of trichophyton tonsurans, the boy was given an antifungal treatment.