CASE SERIES IN IMAGES: “Varied clinical presentations of Malassezia”

Ambujavalli Balakrishnan Thayikkannu¹, Anupma Jyoti Kindo^1, and Mahalakshmi Veeraghavan²

¹Department of Microbiology,

²Department of Dermatology and Venereology Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai.

Cite this paper:
Ambujavalli Balakrishnan Thayikkannu, Anupma Jyoti Kindo and Mahalakshmi Veeraghavan. CASE SERIES IN IMAGES: “Varied clinical presentations of Malassezia”. International Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2014; 2(4):61-65. doi: 10.12691/ijcdr-2-4-3

Abstract

Malassezia is a normal flora of the skin and unlike other yeasts requires lipids for its growth and multiplication. The usual clinical presentation is the hypopigmented or hyperpigmented (chromic) patches seen on the chest, back, and neck. The mixed type ie) chromic and hypopigmented type in the same patient is rarely seen. Seborrheic dermatitis and Malassezia folliculitis are other types of lesions associated with Malassezia. Many of the species of Malassezia can be a human pathogen under the favorable predisposing factors which enables them to rapidly multiply. M. Pachydermatidis is the only species which is lipid independent and is an animal pathogen. However it can be occasionally isolated from the skin of animal handlers and pet owners as colonizers. Usually only one species is isolated from the lesions, though even as normal flora, more than one species is known to exist. Here we report a series of unusual cases from which two species of Malassezia were isolated.

Keywords:
Malassezia M.pachydermatidis M.furfur M.resrticta & M.globosa.

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