Malassezia and Candida colonisation on glans penis of circumcised men.

The Malassezia yeast are members of the normal human cutaneous flora in adults. They also are reported as part of the microflora of the male genital region in mostly uncircumcised males. It has been reported that Malassezia sympodialis and Malassezia globosa are the most frequent yeast belonging to the resident microflora of the penis as in other human skin areas. The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of Malassezia and Candida yeast colonisation on the glans penis of circumcised males. Impression preparations were made on modified Dixon agar. The isolates were identified by morphological and physiological characteristics. A total of 245 circumcised males were included in the study. Of the 245 patients examined, 55 (22.4%) were found to have a mycologically proven yeast fungi on their glans penis. In 17 (30.9%) Malassezia, in 36 (65.5%) Candida, in one (1.8%) Malassezia and Candida, and in one (1.8%) Saccharomyces strains were detected. Malassezia furfur (66.7%) was the most common species among the lipophilic yeast, followed by Malassezia globosa (11.1%), Malassezia obtusa (11.1%) and Malassezia slooffiae (11.1%). Candida albicans was the most common non-lipophilic yeast (46.0%), that was isolated among the other yeast, followed by unidentified Candida strains (18.9%), Candida tropicalis (8.1%), Candida glabrata (8.1%), Candida parapsilosis (8.1%), Candida zeylanoides (5.4%), Candida guilliermondii (2.7%) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2.7%). The results of this study showed that Malassezia species were also colonised like Candida on the glans penis of circumcised males.