Malassezia furfur: a fungus belonging to the physiological skin flora and its relevance in skin disorders.

Malassezia furfur is an anthropophilic fungus that belongs to the physiological skin flora. The fungus can grow in a yeast phase as well as in a mycelial phase; on nonaffected skin the fungus is mainly prevalent in the yeast phase. The organism has complex lipid requirements for growth, which also explains its occurrence on the skin. This also leads to the requirement for specially supplemented media for in vitro cultivation. Malassezia furfur is the causative agent of pityriasis versicolor. It also seems to be associated with seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff formation, folliculitis, confluent and reticulate papillomatosis, and the provocation of psoriatic lesions. Many substances for topical application, such as azole antimycotics, ciclopirox olamine, piroctone-olamine, zinc pyrithione, or sulfur-containing substances are effective in the treatment of these diseases. In recent years rare cases of systemic infections and fungemias caused by Malassezia have been reported.