Is Alopecia Areata Contagious?

I am an army medic stationed in iraq. I had a soldier come to me a few weeks ago with a small bald spot on the back of his head. I looked up the condition online and found out that it’s probably alopecia areata. My question is can the condition be contagious? Keep in mind that we don’t live in the most sanitary conditions. I have recently seen about 8 more guys in my company with the same condition, and their bald spots are spreading fast. One guy’s spot is about 1 1/2 inches now. What do you think it is and what is the treatment? thank you

To my knowledge alopecia areata is not contagious, but I would worry about other problens like infections which may possibly be causing the balding. It could be something contagious like fungal diseases, which cause patchy hair loss. Get your patients to a competent and knowledgeable doctor there who might take scrapings and appropriate cultures looking for something contagious.