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Infecting Mice with Malassezia spp. to Study the Fungus-Host Interaction
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Malassezia pachydermatis carriage in dog owners

Daniel O Morris1

  • 1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Emerging Infectious Diseases
|February 12, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Pet dogs can carry Malassezia pachydermatis, a yeast that can cause infections in humans. This highlights the critical need for healthcare professionals to practice thorough hand hygiene to prevent potential zoonotic transmission.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Mycology
  • Zoonotic Diseases
  • Public Health Microbiology

Background:

  • Malassezia yeasts are common on skin, acting as commensals and pathogens in humans and animals.
  • Malassezia pachydermatis, naturally hosted by dogs, can cause rare but severe fungemia in humans.
  • Zoonotic transmission from dogs to immunocompromised patients via healthcare workers has been documented.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of pet dogs as a risk factor for Malassezia pachydermatis carriage on human hands.
  • To assess the prevalence of M. pachydermatis on dog-owner pairs.

Main Methods:

  • Fungal culture and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to sample dogs and their owners.
  • Paired sampling of dogs and their human owners was conducted.

Main Results:

  • Nested PCR detected Malassezia pachydermatis on approximately 93% of human participants.
  • Fungal culture proved unreliable for detecting yeast carriage on human hands.

Conclusions:

  • Human carriage of opportunistic pathogens like Malassezia pachydermatis is common.
  • The findings underscore the critical importance of stringent hand hygiene practices for healthcare professionals to mitigate zoonotic risks.

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