A dermatophyte known as Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII) has been identified as the cause of an emerging sexually transmitted fungal infection in four adults in the United States, according to a paper published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ( MMWR ).

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday shows meaningful declines in STI rates between 2022 and 2023.

More than 2.4 million STIs were reported last year, compared to more than 2.5 million in 2022, with nearly half occurring in adolescents and young adults aged 15–24, according to a report by the agency.

The number of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the United States in 2023 was down nearly 2% from the year before, a sign the epidemic could be slowing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

Although sexually transmitted infections are still at an epidemic level in the US, scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expressing cautious optimism about some decreases emerging in the newest data.