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.

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