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Malassezia furfur Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Osvaldo Teglia ,
Paul E. Schoch  and
Burke A. Cunha
Osvaldo Teglia
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Division and the Department of Pathology, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, and the SUNY School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York
Paul E. Schoch
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Division and the Department of Pathology, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, and the SUNY School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York
Burke A. Cunha*
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Division and the Department of Pathology, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, and the SUNY School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York
*
Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, NY 11.501.
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Extract

Malassezia furfur, previously known as Pityrosporum obiculare, is a lipophilic saprophytic yeast that preferentially colonizes the skin of the scalp, chest, and back. Three clinical syndromes have been associated with M furfur infections: intravenous line sepsis associated with lipid infusions; folliculitis, most often in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and less commonly in steroid-treated patients with diabetes mellitus; and tinea versicolor, a superficial dermatosis seen in healthy young adults. Most cases of M furfur seen in the hospital are AIDS patients with folliculitis and intravenous line sepsis in neonates receiving lipid emulsions.

The genus Malassezia consists of two saprophytic yeast-like organisms: M furfur and Malassezia pachydermatitis. M furfur, predominantly a yeast, is a fastidiously lipophylic member of the normal skin flora in 90% of humans. It is present as filamentous structures in the skin where the organism is associated with tinea versicolor and folliculitis. M pachydermatitis is a yeast most often associated with dogs, where it has been reported to cause otitis externa. Recent reports have implicated this organism in human infections as well.

Type
Topics in Clinical Microbiology
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 12 , Issue 11 , November 1991 , pp. 676 - 681
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1991

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