PREVALENCE OF MALASSEZIA SPP. IN SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Malassezia spp. in dogs and cats, and to assess the relationship between the Mallassezia infection and skin diseases and/or external ear canal diseases. A total of 100 animals were examined (67 dogs and 33 cats). The cytological examination of the external ear canal and skin specimens was performed in order to diagnose Malassezia spp. The prevalence of Malassezia spp. in the external ear canal of all examined animals was 49% (49/100), with the significant difference between the occurrence of Malassezia spp. in healthy and diseased animals (p < 0.05). The prevalence for animals with skin diseases was 54.5% (18/33), while the prevalence for animals with diseases of external ear canal was 90.9% (10/11). Statistically significant relationship was shown between the findings of Malassezia spp. on cytological examination and the appearance of erythema in dogs (p<0.05) and of excoriation in cats (p<0.05).