Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Study of the variation of the Malassezia load in the interdigital fold of dogs with pododermatitis.
- Journal:
- Veterinary research communications
- Year:
- 2023
- Authors:
- Díaz, Leyna et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy · Spain
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In this study, researchers looked at a type of yeast called Malassezia pachydermatis, which can grow too much and cause skin problems in dogs, particularly in a condition known as pododermatitis, where the skin between the toes becomes inflamed. They collected samples from the affected areas of dogs with pododermatitis before and after treatment, as well as from healthy dogs, to see how much of the yeast was present. The tests showed that dogs with pododermatitis had higher amounts of the yeast compared to healthy dogs, indicating that it plays a role in the condition. After treatment, the yeast levels in the affected dogs decreased, suggesting that the treatment was effective in reducing the yeast load. Overall, the study supports the idea that Malassezia pachydermatis can contribute to pododermatitis in dogs and highlights the importance of testing to understand the condition better.
Abstract
The yeast Malassezia pachydermatis is a common inhabitant of the skin and mucosae of dogs. However, under certain circumstances this yeast can overgrow and act as an opportunistic pathogen causing otitis and dermatitis in dogs. Canine pododermatitis is a common disorder in dogs in which M. pachydermatis acts as an opportunistic pathogen. In the present study, the presence of Malassezia yeasts was assessed and quantified in samples collected from the interdigital space of dogs with pododermatitis before and after treatment, and from healthy dogs. The samples were subjected to two different cytological examinations, culture on Sabouraud glucose agar and modified Dixon's agar and a quantitative PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genomic region. A selection of samples was analyzed by next generation sequencing (NGS) using the D1D2 domain of the large subunit of the ribosomal DNA as target. The pododermatitis samples before treatment showed higher cell counts, colony-forming units and ITS copies than the rest of samples. The NGS analysis revealed that Ascomycota was the main phylum in the healthy and post-treatment samples. However, Basidiomycota and M. pachydermatis was more abundant in the pododermatitis samples before treatment. These results support M. pachydermatis as an opportunistic agent in canine pododermatitis by a variety of methods, and demonstrate the correlation between cytologic and molecular methods for quantification.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35704160/