Web Chapter 44 M. pachydermatis has been documented to cause life-threatening fungemia in people, especially in patients in critical condition receiving parenteral lipid infusions, such as neonates in the intensive care unit (ICU). In one case, the source of infection was shown to be a pet dog owned by a nurse who worked in the ICU (Chang et al, 1998). This observation suggested that M. pachydermatis could represent an emerging infectious zoonotic pathogen. An epidemiologic survey conducted by the author’s clinical research group has shown that M. pachydermatis can be isolated very commonly from the hands of dog owners, regardless of whether their dogs have MD or healthy skin (Morris et al, 2005). However, the public health significance appears to be extremely low, considering the commonness of mechanical carriage by dog owners coupled with the paucity of fungemia cases reported in the human literature. Several excellent reviews describing the clinical presentations of MD and MO in dogs and cats are available (Matousek and Campbell, 2002; Morris, 1999; Muse, 2000). Some key points are included here.
Malassezia Infections
Zoonosis
Clinical Signs