In vitro susceptibility of Malassezia pachydermatis isolates from canine skin with atopic dermatitis to ketoconazole and itraconazole in East Asia.

Topical or oral azole antifungals are commonly used in canine atopic dermatitis (AD), as the lipophilic yeast Malassezia pachydermatis exacerbates canine AD. To examine whether canine AD lesions harbor azole-resistant M. pachydermatis isolates in East Asia, we investigated the in vitro susceptibility of M. pachydermatis isolates to ketoconazole (KTZ) and itraconazole (ITZ) obtained from AD lesions of canines in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of KTZ and ITZ were measured by the E-test using Sabouraud dextrose agar with 0.5% Tween 40. The MICs of KTZ and ITZ for isolates from canines with AD were significantly higher than the MICs for isolates from healthy canines. Our findings suggested that the clinical isolates from canine AD skin lesions were less susceptible to azoles than those from normal canine skin in East Asia.