Malassezia spp
From Felipedia
Malassezia spp (formerly known as Pityrosporum) are commonly associated with fungal infections in cats, particularly in Malassezia-associated seborrhoeic dermatitis in the Sphinx, generalized dermatitis and paronychia in the Devon rex cats and otitis externa in most breeds.
Malassezia is a genus of related fungi, classified as yeasts, naturally found on the skin surfaces of many animals including humans. In most cases Malassezia spp infection is a secondary problem. It can occur in conjunction with allergies, immune mediated disease, chronic bacterial infections, long-term antibiotic use and seborrhea. It may also occur as a primary infection such as the sphinx. It also has been reported in cats treated for Pseudomonas spp infection (a bacteria), probably because treatment for that condition requires long term antibiotic use with broad spectrum antibiotics[1].
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Sphinx susceptibility
The sphinx is an almost hairless breed with very few, fine down-like hairs. Sphinx often have a greasy exudate, which to a varying degree accumulates on the surface as a thin sticky, dark brown or reddish brown layer. Accumulation of greasy material may be particularly noticeable around the claws and in the palmar and/or plantar interdigital web. Within the breed there are many individuals with a varying degree of dark brown, greasy exudate around their claws, and at other sites, including axillae, groin and sometimes ears[2][3].
Sphinx cats carry significantly higher numbers of Malassezia spp yeast than other breeds of cats, excepting the Devon rex. No correlation between Malassezia spp infection and diet, housing conditions and genetics of individual Sphinx lines has as yet been reported[4]. Many Sphinx owners bathe their cats regularly, often every 7-14 days, to remove the excessive greasiness from the body, claws and ears. For many Sphinx cats, greasiness becomes increasingly obvious the longer it has been since their bath.
Treatment
Itraconazole appears to be the drug of choice in treating these cases that do not respond to products such as Malaseb and other anti-fungal shampoos.
It can take extensive diagnostic work to correctly identify the underlying cause of yeast infections when they are recurrent. Tests for immune system disorders like feline leukemia (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), hormonal disease, allergies, bacterial infections, parasites (ear mites, Demodectic mange, etc.) and careful review of medication histories may be necessary to establish the diagnosis of the primary problem.
Clinical importance
In a recent study, Malassezia yeasts were isolated from 95.1% and 48.4% of the cats with and without otitis externa, respectively. The rate of isolation in affected animals versus normals was highly significant. Out of 137 isolates obtained from cats with otitis, 57.7% were identified as Malassezia pachydermatis, 15.4% as M. obtusa, 11.4% as M. globosa, 7.3% as M. slooffiae, 4.1% as M. sympodialis, 2.4% as M. furfur and 1.6% as M. restricta.
Malassezia species were frequently isolated from feline subjects with age range from 1 to 4 years old (42.7%). The findings of these researchers suggest that feline otitis externa can be associated with lipid-dependent Malassezia species in addition to the non lipid-dependent species M. pachydermatis (Khosravi et al, 2009).
References
- ↑ Khosravi AR, Shokri H, Rad MA, Jamshidi S. (2009) Occurrence of Malassezia Species in Persian and Domestic Short Hair Cats with and without Otitis Externa. J Vet Med Sci Dec 1
- ↑ Ahman, S et al (2007) Carriage of Malassezia species yeast in healthy and seborrhoeic Devon Rex cats. Med Mycol 45:449-455
- ↑ Ahman, S et al (2007) Treatment of Malassezia pachydermatitis-associated seborrhoeic dermatitis in Devon Rex cats with Itraconazole - a pilot study. Vet Dermatol 18:171-174
- ↑ Ahman, SE & Bergstrom, KE (2009) Cutaneous carriage of Malassezia species in healthy and seborrhoeic Sphynx cats and a comparison to carriage in Devon Rex cats. JFMS 11:970-976
