The distribution of Malassezia furfur and Malassezia pachydermatis on normal human skin.

Clinically normal skin of 200 volunteers, age range 20-30 years, were studied. Skin samples were taken by swabbing ten different sites and examined for the presence of Malassezia furfur and Malessezia pachydermatis by culture. All of the subjects studied harbored M. furfur at every site tested, and had high counts on the head region and upper trunk. The strains isolated could be divided on the basis of culture characteristics into three distinct groups. Only 12% of the subjects carried M. pachydermatis with very low counts at sites on the head and palm.