The role of Malassezia species in psoriasis is still undetermined, but several reports have associated these lipophilic yeasts with the development of skin lesions in psoriasis. The aim of our study was to analyze the prevalence of Malassezia species in the scalp lesions of patients with psoriasis and assess the distribution of the species according to patient sex, age, and duration of the disease. Forty psoriatic patients with scalp involvement and the same number of clinically healthy individuals were included in the study. The samples were obtained by scraping the skin surface of the scalp of all subjects and then incubated on modified Dixon agar. The yeasts isolated were identified by their morphological and physiological properties according to Guillot et al method. M.globosa in its yeast phase was a predominant species (55%), followed by M.slooffiae (18%) and M.restricta (10%), the latter being the most common species isolated from healthy scalp skin. We found significant difference in the distribution of Malassezia species between psoriatic and healthy scalp skin and in the distribution of Malassezia species according to the severity of the scalp involvement.

Zoophlic dermatophytes are common cause of tinea infections in Europe, especially in Mediterranean area. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of zoophilic dermatophytes in Sarajevo area, during a five-year period (1998-2002). Samples (skin scrapings or nail fragments) were taken from 2,142 patients who presented with suspected dermatophytoses and cultured on Sabouraud agar. After three weeks of incubations 465 (21.7%) dermatophytes were identified based on macroscopic and microscopic morphology. Zoophilic dermatophytes were found in 421 (90.5%) patients. The most common zoophilic species was Microsporum canis (80.0%), whereas Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton verrucosum were less frequently isolated, in 9.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Lesions of tinea capitis were the most prevalent clinical type of Microsporum canis infections (28.8%), followed by tinea corporis (27.4%), tinea faciei (14.8%), tinea pedum (10.2%), tinea unguium (7.8%), tinea manuum (7.5%) and tinea cruris (3.5%). The findings in our study indicate a constant increase in frequency of the zoophilic microsporiasis in recent years in Sarajevo area.