The detergent scrub method for quantitative determination of Malassezia furfur on chest and back skin: comparative evaluation of three different media

The quantitative determination of Malassezia furfur on normal human skin has been considered as difficult until recently. During the last years, however, several different media have been described which facilitate the quantification of M. furfur. As the efficacy of these media is still controversial, three different media were compared analyzing the chest and back of 20 healthy young adult volunteers. The highest counts of colony-forming units (CFU) per cm2 were found using a medium containing whole fat cow's milk as a major ingredient. At the chest the mean count read was 259, at the back 322. The corresponding figures related to other media were markedly lower (P less than 0.001). Hence, the use of the milk-containing medium for cultivation of M. furfur seems advisable for therapeutic trials.