What does Malassezia pachydermatis cause?

Yeast dermatitis or Malassezia dermatitis is caused by the fungus Malassezia pachydermatis. It is an extremely common cause of skin disease in dogs. This yeast is normally found on the skin, but its abnormal overgrowth can cause dermatitis, or inflammation of the skin.

Where is Malassezia pachydermatis usually found?

Bajwa is a Board-certified dermatologist. Malassezia pachydermatis is a commensal yeast that is normally present in low numbers in the external ear canals and superficial muco-cutaneous sites in dogs. Malassezia pachydermatis is characterized by its round to oval or classical peanut shape with monopolar budding.

What is the best antifungal for Malassezia?

Ketoconazole possesses the strongest in vitro activity against Malassezia, and represents the treatment of choice for topical therapy of pityriasis versicolor. Alternatives include other azole antifungals but also the allylamine terbinafine and the hydroxypyridone antifungal agent ciclopirox olamine.

What causes Malassezia overgrowth in humans?

Particular conditions, such as atopic or seborrheic dermatitis, parasitic infestation, diabetes mellitus in dogs, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline leukaemia virus infections, and long-term antibiotic use associated with glucocorticoid treatment may predispose to Malassezia overgrowth, usually leading to …

Is malassezia Pachydermatis zoonotic?

Although rare, cases of life-threatening fungemia in people have been attributed to Malassezia pachydermatis, for which dogs are a natural host. Zoonotic transfer has been documented from dogs to immunocompromised patients by healthcare workers who own dogs.

How is Malassezia dermatitis treated?

Topical products are the treatments of choice for Malassezia dermatitis. Anti-fungal shampoos are the mainstay of treatment and are usually very effective. When shampooing is not possible, anti-fungal wipes, rinses and creams can be effective.

Can humans catch Malassezia from dogs?

Can dog yeast infections spread to humans?

The Yeast Infection Is Not Contagious to Humans Humans have also yeast cells on the skin and intestinal tract, but the canine yeast infection is not contagious to humans. The yeast infection can cause symptoms that are similar in many other skin infections that are contagious.

What triggers Malassezia yeast?

The Malassezia (antigen) proteins are found in sweat and the disease is therefore triggered by sweating (sometimes referred to as sweat allergy) (Hiragun et al., 2013; Maarouf et al., 2018).

Where can Malassezia pachydermatis be found?

Malassezia pachydermatis in its pathogenic form can be found colonizing a variety of animals such as rhinoceroses, sea lions, black bears and domesticated cats. It is however most commonly associated with canine ear and skin infections.

Does Malassezia pachydermatis have a symbiotic relationship with commensal staphylococci?

Malassezia pachydermatisis thought to have a symbiotic relationship with commensal staphylococci, which produce mutually beneficial growth factors and micro-environmental alterations (1,2). Clinical findings

Can Malassezia pachydermatis cause ear infections in dogs?

Malassezia pachydermatis. A commensal fungus, it can be found within the microflora of healthy mammals such as humans, cats and dogs, However, it is capable of acting as an opportunistic pathogen under special circumstances and has been seen to cause skin and ear infections, most often occurring in canines.

What causes malasseziadermatitis in dogs?

Malasseziadermatitis in dogs is usually a secondary problem due to an underlying skin disease such as allergic disease (including canine atopic dermatitis and flea allergy dermatitis), recurrent bacterial pyoderma, and endocrine diseases (especially hypothyroidism) (2).