A great many conditions common to household pets, are not transmittable from your cat or dog, to the humans in your household. Unfortunately, Ringworm is not one of them. It is a highly contagious fungal disorder, of which there are some 35 species that affect the usual household pets, including your cats. The most common form is Microsporum Canis, which can account for 75-98% of the cases of Ringworm in catteries, and household environments.
So where did your household acquire this annoying, but curable problem? Cats must be exposed to the dermatophytes from spores in the environment, or animals with active cases. They may have got it outdoors, or it may have come into your home with a new pet. Particularly if that pet came from a densely populated environment such as a cattery.
This is not to say that all catteries have Ringworm. It is simply that dense populations, whether they are shelters, pet homes, or breeders, are at a higher risk factor for experiencing the stresses which can cause an outbreak, and also are an environment in which it is extremely difficult to get rid of the residual spores which can live in that environment for as long as 13 months, and result in reinfection of cats who appear to have been cured.
If your cat has a lesion which you suspect is Ringworm, it requires veterinary attention. Often times, parasitic infections such as cheylietella (also spreadable to humans) is mistaken for Ringworm. The vet will use a "black light" as we know it, to make the white spores/fungus phosphoresce in a dark room. Treatment can then take a variety of forms including systemic(something they ingest) and/or topical medications.
One of the difficulties in eliminating the condition from a home or cattery, is the spores that are shed by "cured" cats, and also by those who are asymptomatic carriers. Particularly when they are shed onto porous surfaces such as carpeting or materials in furniture. Heat and disinfectants will only go so far.
Precautions in handling affected animals, must be taken by children especially, as they appear to be more prone to acquiring the fungus from their pet. Once the visible infection is gone, it may be wise to use a periodic external treatment such as a dip to kill spores lingering on the coat. Another recent discovery, is that a flea hormone based treatment for flea prevention, is proving effective in preventing the development of the Ringworm fungus. The flea hormone, which acts by preventing the egg shell from hardening, also prevents the micropscopic structure of the fungus from forming. This makes it a suitable long term treatment, and is preferable to some of the more potentially harmful systemic drugs.
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