Dermatology Online Journal

Candida is a genus of yeasts that can be a part of normal human skin flora, but may cause disease when the skin barrier is compromised. C. albicans is the most common pathogenic species of this genus, but in recent years infection with other species, such as C. parapsilosis has been growing. C. parapsilosis is a species of Candida that has been found in the skin of humans and other mammals, including dogs. In this brief report, the authors describe two cases of atypical periorifical infection with C. parapsilosis in patients who both volunteered in dog shelters. Owing to the atypical presentation of the fungal infections, the isolation of C. parapsilosis as the causative organism and their extensive history of exposure to dogs, these cases may represent the first evidence of possible zoonotic transmission of C. parapsilosis from dogs to humans.